Fire and Ice
by Mac7511
Summary: Hi, this is a continuation of my earlier feature, A pretty face... The plot revolves around my own OC, Connor, the rest of the characters belong firmly to JJ Abrahams and ABC studio. Some of the event tie into season 2, however, as we won't get season 2
1. Chapter 1

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 1**

**Eve**

I should have listened to you Sayid, Sawyer, and even you Kate. Connor leans against the edge of an embankment of a stream. It is pitch black, and the jungle that surrounds him is quiet. That means something is wrong, something is very wrong. Leaving the safety of the beach, even the caves, fifteen days ago, was beginning to look like the biggest mistake in the history of big mistakes. Connor grimaces, and flicks off the safety of the assault rifle. Well Jack you got your wish, I found trouble.

Sayid was right about one thing. There were others on this island. It's the creepiest feeling, Connor thinks, and its not the wind. Nathaniel and his brood was just a bunch of fucked up religious zealots, even though he hadn't seen one, and from the stories about Ethan Rom, the natives or the others of this island were a different proposition.

He hears it. The sloshing of water, like somebody is running in the stream, Connor turns in its direction, and raises the rifle.

The sloshing gets louder, and louder. Three hundred meters and closing. Connor can now hears something else. Breathing, panicked breathing. Short controlled bursts.

Around the bend of the stream, he sees a figure appear, smallish in the fading moon-light. One fifty meters, Connor lowers the rifle. The figure is getting closer, it is sounding more panicked. It's a…

The girl turns around, she is about six or seven, with matted long blonde hair, a torn "Driveshaft" t-shirt, and dirty jeans. She is unwashed, and has been for what seems weeks, her wrists are still bleeding from were they bound them together. She struggles through the water. They are getting closer.

Connor sees them, two human figures, very tall, thinly built, male definitely, carrying clubs or spiked sticks. He raises the rifle, and takes aim. Shoot to wound, they'll use up their resources on the wounded. The girl squeals as she stumbles and falls into the stream. Connor has a clear line of sight.

He fires. The lead male collapses shot through the shoulder. The second one keeps coming. Connor fires again, the second man howls in pain, shot in the leg. The girl gets up, and looks at them stunned, panting for breath. Both men are writhing in agony. She turns, and runs directly into Connor.

She screams.

"Calm down." Connor whispers forcefully for the umpteenth time in as many minutes. He bellows in pain, as she sinks her teeth into his arm. She struggles violently. "I'm not going to hurt you!" He says softly. "You were on the plane to LAX, you sat in the row in front of me." The girl looks up at him, and gasps. "I was the man in the suit." Connor smiles. "I still am though I haven't shaven for a couple of weeks!" She stops struggling. "You argued with your parents about an in-flight movie you wanted to watch." I'm getting through to her, now what was her name, Evangeline, Lilly, Ellie? He pauses.

"Eve!" He crouches down to face her. "That's your name, isn't Eve!" The girl stares at Connor for a few moments. She nods.

"Eve we need to move now, I think the men that were chasing you might have friends – you understand?"

Eve nods. "There's a camp, with other people from the flight, we'll look after you!" Connor reaches out and holds her hand. "Come on we've got to put some distance between them and us."

It is morning. Day forty-three on the island, Connor groans. Eve is asleep in a grove, next to a fresh water stream. The sun is rising above the ocean. Connor camped here before, five days before. He could have sworn that he heard a motor boat during that night, amazing how the mind plays tricks on you. He watches Eve, whilst filling up a couple of water bottles. He yawns, they both ran for a solid five hours, stopping for a few minutes here and there, I'll sleep when I get back to the camp. Nobody followed them, however the trail that they left, a paralytic person could follow. On a strict ration plan, the food that he had, has lasted. However he now has another mouth to feed. Eve hungrily ate his last very ripe banana, before she was sick.

"Here you go Eve." Connor hands her a full water bottle. Eve grabs it, and gulps it down in a few moments. "Thirsty?" She nods. Connor hands her the other full water bottle. Eve drinks this one, exactly the same way. She rifts.

Connor grins.

"You're welcome Eve." She looks up at Connor. "You don't talk much?" Come on Connor, that's not fair. Eve glances away, staring into the jungle. That's probably why. He guesses. "We're about three days from where the camp is. I think if we move fast, we can do it in a day and a half!"

Eve gives Connor a blank look. "I take that as a may be." Connor points to the stream, get yourself cleaned up, we'll be going in ten minutes."

"Did you hear it last night?" Hurley watches out from the cave. "Hear what?" Sayid says stretching. "I think it was gunfire." He nervously grimaces. "About four or five shots from the other side of the island."

Sayid walks alongside him. "Yes I did."

"Too much is happening here!" Hurley glances in the direction of where Jack, Kate and Locke are, at the bunker.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 2**

**Welcome back**

An ear piercing whistle wakes up the beachside camp. Survivors nervously hurry out of their shelters. A few hundred metres away, two figures approach them, one tall, one small.

Eve is trying very hard to stay awake, her and Connor have walked continuously now for two days. "That's the beach site, there are more survivors in the caves." Connor points to it. Eve nods to understand. She has not uttered a word in the length of time that they have been together. "I'll get somebody to get Jack to look you over."

There is not the overwhelming welcome party that Connor expects. None of the bigwigs that the fellow survivors look up to are there, and most noticeably the raft is gone!

People are scared. One of the other survivors, Steve walks over to Connor. Eve, nervously takes a few steps behind Connor. Steve notices this, and stops.

"Hi." He nervously glances at Eve. "How's things." Connor replies.

Steve grimaces. Not a good sign, he motions Connor to sit down. "A lot's happened while you've been away."

I liked Boone. Connor grimaces. Eve is sleeping in a blanket given to her by another survivor. "I take it, it wasn't pretty?" Steve nervously grins. "That's right, man he didn't want his leg amputated." He pauses. "Then Shannon tries to shoot Locke!" Jess, an over excited New Zealand women, butts in. Steve frowns at the interruption. "The raft burns down, Kate then poisoned." Connor raises an eyebrow. "Michael, got found out. He's Built another raft, him, Michael, Walt, the creepy Korean guy, and Sawyer go out, around seven days ago." Jess says this without stopping for breath. Steve takes it as his cue to fill in the rest. "Some French woman steals Claire baby, and disappears into the jungle. Sayid, Shannon, Hurley and Charlie go after Aaron?"

"Aaron?"

"That's Claire's son. They get him back. However at the same time, Locke, Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Arty go to the black rock!"

Oh shit. "Are they still there?"

Steve nods. "I think they've found something. Because Kate went back for Sayid!"

Connor folds his arms, and yawns. He needs his sleep. "Sawyer's place still up?"

"Told us it was your's until he comes back." Connor yawns. He's probably took that bottle of JD with him. "Look I need some shut eye, can somebody here look after Eve here?" He nods to a sleeping Eve. "I'll do it!" Jess eagerly smiles.

"Still the same dump you left Sawyer." Connor grins, at the ramshackle structure. He notices a figure at the edge of it, going through the suitcases that Sawyer seemed to be a genius at finding. A slim figure, it looks like from this distance. Tight jeans, Green T-shirt, just the glimpse of a black G-string, tied back dirty dark brown hair. It's definitely a woman. Connor stops a few paces behind her.

"Hey whatever's in the suitcases take, but at least leave me the bed or what passes for one!" Connor stops a few feet away from. The woman is startled, stops, mutters something unintelligible, gets up and turns round. Connor steps back.

She is tall, creamy white skinned, with sharp and stunning Northern European features, with brown eyes and light brown hair, and a very slender figure. Easy Connor, you remember the last time you judged a woman on looks alone?

"_Do you always offer a room in your apartment to a girl you've just met?" Kate smiles, standing in the doorway._

"I am very sorry." She replies in broken English. "I was looking for some of my personal belongings. I think a Sayer, Sawyer had them!" She says. Connor looks around and about her. She has dragged out every suitcase to look into.

"Look – er, I'm Connor!" Connor speaks very slowly in phonetic English. "I'm going to sleep for a couple of hours, you're very welcome to come back and have a look then!" He grins. The woman grins, smiles, and gives Connor the thumbs up. "I will do that…"

"Connor" Connor points to himself. "Svetlana!" The woman points to herself. Connor, grinning like an idiot, gives her the thumbs up too. "See you in a couple of hours Svetlana!"

Svetlana walks away. Connor watches her, shaking his head. Guess everybody has to do what they can to survive here. Nice ass too!

I have a degree in foreign languages, and politics at St Petersburg University. Svetlana mutters in Russian. This ass-wipe treats me like a simpleton. If only he really knew what I was capable of. Svetlana glances around the camp. Where in hell's name could they be?

Whatever she is saying it sounds beautiful. Connor falls asleep.

In the jungle just off the track down to the beach camp, a day sack hangs off a branch of a tree. It has for forty seven days, until a gust of wind snaps the branch and it falls onto the track. It has been torn open in its long fall to earth, and some of its contents have spilled onto the jungle floor. Glittering in the sunlight, diamonds are scattered.

I must be hearing things. There are raised voices, at the camp site. Connor opens his eyes thinking he's dreaming, but a ocean breeze hits his face. He listens in. A couple of survivors are talking, excitedly. Footsteps that are breaking into a dead run. There are louder voices this time. Oh great!

Trouble is brewing. Connor grabs the rifle.

More people are running.

He hears Familiar voice number one. Jack. That means, they're back from the black rock. Pity.

Familiar voice number two. Puffing and panting, like he's carrying something heavy. Definitely Hurley.

A gentler voice speaks. Connor smiles, Rose. How's she keeping?

Another woman's voice now speaks. Connor sighs. Kate. Great.

"Hi Eve." Connor smiles sleepily, at Eve, who is staring at him from outside the shack. She yawns, looking at the ocean. "You stay here for a while, I'll find out what's going on!"

Connor gets up, Eve stands next to him. "I guess we'll both find out what's going on!" He grins.

There is almost pandemonium, as Hurley is mobbed by other survivors. Connor and Eve watch from a distance, adults acting like kids in a candy store. Connor sighs, as Hurley falls on his behind. Eve giggles. Connor watches bemused. From the edge of the crowd, somebody catches his eye. Svetlana is staring at him. He stares at her, she glances away.

"Open your mouth!" Eve opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue, Jack smiles and shines a pen torch. Connor watches from five feet away, chewing on a Candy bar.

"That's you Eve." Eve jumps down from the rock and runs away towards the shack. Jack and Connor watch her.

"Borderline malnutrition, but nothing that can't be fixed. She's in good shape." Jack walks over to Connor. "Everything seems ok."

"Ok for a kid whose grand-parents are lost." Connor checked the flight manifest a few hours ago. "They weren't in the fuselage that was torched. Maybe they were in the tail end" He sighs. "I shot two guys who were chasing her. She must have escaped from them."

"She told you this?"

Connor shakes his head. "Hasn't spoken a dicky-bird in three days."

"Find anything else on your travels?"

"I found another two fresh water streams; Locke was right about the boar they've moved away. Some pieces of fuselage nothing larger than a couple of feet." Jack looks away, the boar haven't moved away. Connor shrugs his shoulders. Jack hands Connor a water bottle.

"You want to tell me about your news."

"What news is that?"

"Tins of spam, candy bars, and tuna don't grow on trees here." Connor sneers. "The truth please."

Jack sighs and tells Connor.

Dharma initiative, an underground bunker and tunnel network, a clock that could destroy the island, Arty blowing himself up, and a mad scientist. Connor walks away shaking his head in disbelief. This place is insane. Sounds like some kooky stunt Stanley Kubrik would dream up. He sits down on a rock. Either somebody wants people to stay away from this island, or somebody wants us to remain here. I hope you're having better luck Sawyer.

Something falls at his feet. Connor sighs, as he recognises it. A family photograph. Oh boy!

"You're back." Kate says from behind him. Connor grimaces. "I'm like a bad penny, I keep turning up when you least expect me too." He turns round. "Freckles!" He mimics Sawyer's accent poorly. There is no smile in return, no warmth in her face. Bad joke!

"I guess you know about the big secret." She walks along side him. "Uh-huh, I'm down to press the button tomorrow." Connor reaches down and picks up the photograph. Kate watches him. "Thanks." He whispers. Kate nods about to say something.

Eve appears alongside Connor, and looks up at Kate. You appear at the most bloody awkward times Eve. Connor scowls.

"Hi." Kate smiles. "You must be."

"Eve!" Connor looks at her and gasps. The first words she has spoken at all. Kate crouches down. "How old are you?"

"Seven." Eve looks up at Connor. "He saved my life."

"Did he now?" Kate glances, at Connor who is now looking for a way out. He sees Sayid and Shannon in the distance. Time now to make my escape. Connor gets up, watched by a curious Kate, Eve jumps onto the rock. Kate sits down beside her, handily holding a candy bar.

Connor watches the two chat away.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3, introduces another new OC, Lana, an Lithuanian survivor with a very dark, and very deadly past, that will plunge the whole camp and every survivor into a life or death struggle, in which friendships are broken, and new enemies are created. I do not intend Lana to be popular, just very nasty and very manipulative. In the forthcoming chapters, will not disappoint you. All comments and suggestions are very welcome.

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 3**

**Lana**

"If you don't move I'll leave your worthless ass behind." The stern Latina woman snaps at them. Since their "Rescue" all three of the raft's survivors have a reason to dread her temper. Especially Sawyer, who now has a busted nose to add to his collection of bumps and scrapes from her. Jin, and another tail end survivor Libby help him get up. Michael watches with Bernard, Rose's husband, both step aside as Ana-Lucia stomps past muttering.

"How far are we from the camp Michael?" She snaps as she walks past.

"A day or so, if we travel throughout the night."

Other tail end survivors look at Michael with dread. Two of their own went out looking for food last night, and hadn't been heard from since. Ecko, another survivor of a previous plane crash leads them. They have been moving for a week now, the others have always been close by, watching, waiting, striking when a weakness appears. Even in the large group of the eight they are in, the others sense their weakness. Sawyer's wounds are slowing them down, he needs help and fast, as the septicaemia could kill him in this climate.

"I don't think pissing on it will help!" Libby replaces another bandage over the shoulder wound. She gives him a friendly look, Sawyer grimaces in pain. "It's bad isn't it?" Libby's frown cum smile does not comfort him.

"Where's Jack when you need him?" He moans.

"You take Claire, I'll take Lana!" Jack says as he and Sayid sprint across the sand. Claire ever feisty is confronting Lana over something. A crowd is gathering.

"I think you have my bag." Lana shouts in accented English. "With my belongings."

"If you'd asked instead of taking, I'd have let you look!" Claire fires back. Though Lana stands a good foot above Claire, Claire is not intimidated, and squares up to Lana. Lana glares down.

Lana's face is getting redder by the moment. Things are heating up.

_A cold winter wind blows across the wasteland outside Moscow. Lana stands by a silver Mercedes, her striking blonde hair buried beneath a hooded fur lined jacket. A black BMW pulls up a hundred meters from her. Four men, all very smartly dressed in long winter overcoats get out. Three stay behind, and one walks towards Lana._

_Lana coolly walks towards the middle-aged man. His name is Yuri, an enforcer for one the major business men in Moscow, one with political connections. The other three men are sub-ordinates, all armed._

_Yuri stops in front of Lana. This will be a short meeting, no pleasantries._

"_Lana, my boss has some business that he would like you to take care of." Yuri hands over a brown envelope. Lana opens the envelope; there are documents and a photograph._

"_Sergei Ivannovich is his name. A week ago he stole some very personal belongings from my boss. He would like them returned, and a suitable message delivered to Sergei."_

_Lana thinly smiles, it is not warm. It is cold and professional._

"_May I ask what it is I have to return?"_

_Yuri pauses. "Eighteen uncut diamonds with a net value of forty two million dollars." Lana glances up at Yuri. "Which when returned, you will receive a payment of Four million dollars."_

_Lana breathes deeply. "Where is he?"_

_Yuri grins. "Somewhere a lot warmer than this, Lana, Sydney Australia!"_

_Lana nods. "I will do it, I require one hundred thousand dollars transferred to my account first, my usual fee, and a list of local contacts."_

_Yuri laughs. "He told me that you would request that!"_

"Lana you don't take other people's belongings." Sayid whispers softly, frog marching Lana away. Jack is standing in front of Claire, with Charlie holding her back. "If you tell me what it is that you are looking for perhaps we can look for it!"

Sayid kindly says, maintaining eye contact with her. Lana glances away, and sighs deeply. "It is a small blue backpack, it has the n, n nike logo on it. There is a small brown box in it, with letters and postcards from my family." She desperately spits out, it is an act, but it works.

Sayid turns round, the crowd has dispersed, and the excitement is over for the day. "I will ask people to look for it!"

Lana sighs. "I had it last when we moved from the beach to here!" She coughs, and starts to cry. "They are very precious to me!"

Sayid rests a hand on her shoulders. "I lost some precious items once, but they were returned to me. They will be found again I promise."

"Perhaps if you became friends with her." Shannon glances up from the book she is reading, it is the worst suggestion she has heard. Vincent looks over, and resumes his afternoon dog nap. Sayid however is not one for quitting. Both watch Lana, sitting alone at the edge of the camp. "She would not feel so alone here!"

Shannon groans. "Okay." Sayid gets up. "Lana" He shouts, to Shannon's horror, and Lana's surprise.

"_I've seen him." The Australian bar manager grins. "Husband?" He says with grim irony. He is a Russian Mafia contact._

_A goal is scored in the football match on the big screen._

_Lana with her blonde hair dyed black smiles. "Brother. He immigrated here a few months ago."_

"_That figures." The Manager has an eye on the barmaid slipping a customer's tip into her jean pocket. She carries on as normal._

"_He's staying at the apartment block a few streets away, I'll write it down for you." The bar manager writes down an address on an slip of paper, and hands it to her. Lana smiles. "Thank you." She slips a thousand dollars across the counter's surface. "Sergei's a poor tipper anyway."_

_Lana nods. "Excuse me!" He says._

"_Annie get that customer's tip out of your pocket put it in the jar." The Manager bellows. "Get your jacket. You're fucking fired."_

_Annie walks across the floor, customers watch her. She scowls and slams the five dollars onto the counter. Lana watches her, smirking. Annie turns her back and walks away._

_Lana finishes her vodka and coke. "You just can't get the staff these days."_

_Lana walks along the street, she stops and spies the apartments. Tomorrow night. She feels a hand go into her jacket pocket, grab her wallet and run. Lana turns round and gives chase after the figure._

"Hello." Lana nervously sits down next to Shannon. Shannon smiles, the best friendly smile that she can muster. Vincent on the other hand sits down in front of Lana, and allows himself to be clapped. Lana claps him with gusto.

"He never usually does that with strangers." Shannon exclaims.

"It must be nice, did the little boy leave him here for you to look after him."

"More like he looks after me." Lana laughs. "On our farm in Lithuania, we have lots of dogs!"

"Is that close to Russia?" Shannon remembers what Sayid told her. Lana gently smiles. "Yes it is. I was going home to visit my parents."

"Are you working in Australia?" Another thing Sayid has told her. Lana nods. "Yes I am Shannon, I'm a nanny to two little girls!"

"That must be fun." Shannon smiles. Lana looks out at the sea. "It is, they live in a big house across the bay from Sydney!"

Sayid, you are a genius. Sayid smiles to himself. He watches Shannon and Lana talk away. She seems like a very gentle soul.

_Lana chases the figure into a park. Both sprint down a lamp lighted pathway. The figure stumbles on the grass, and Lana pounces on her, drawing the small pistol that she has in an ankle holster. She pulls the hood down, and grabs their hair, and turns them round. She recognises her. It's Annie the barmaid._

_Annie gasps as Lana places a knee on her throat, and presses the pistol into her temple._

"_I have killed people for more you little bitch." Annie struggles, as Lana goes into her jacket pocket, and retrieves her wallet, along with Annie's last wage. Lana coldly smiles, more than money has been taken from Annie's pocket. Some ID cards. Lana scans them as Annie struggles. "Well Katherine Austin, and Katherine Ryan. I know who you are, you do not know who I am." Lana puts Kate's fake ID's into her pocket. "You never will."_

_She squeezes the trigger. Kate closes her eyes. The pistol doesn't fire. Lana laughs, and gets up. Kate chokes for breath. Lana watches her. "Maybe I should have pulled the trigger Katharine."_

_Kate stares up at her. "The next time I will kill you." Lana hisses._

"Anne and Maggie were the girls names." Lana smiles, lying is easy to her. Shannon listens keenly. "Both had long blonde hair in pigtails. Their Daddy was a government minister, their mother was a lawyer."

Shannon smiles. In the distance she spies Connor and Jack talking. Lana glances in the distance. "He is nice."

"Jack?" Shannon grins.

"No" Lana blushes and looks away bashfully. "The other one!"

"Connor."

"Yeah." Shannon blushes. "He is very cute." Both woman giggle. "I wouldn't sharing a sleeping bag with either of them." Shannon laughs at Lana's suggestion. Here we were total strangers fifteen minutes ago, now we're talking about which guys we'd like in the sack.

"My step brother was talking about Connor, you know before…"

Lana nods in understanding. "He thought there was bits of history with you know who?"

"Kate." Lana says. "I hear the two of them sometimes talking. They are not an item!"

"You sure?"

"Yes." Lana whispers. "Very sure." Lana winks suggestively. Shannon leans in closer. "You think so."

_Sergei lies face down dead in his apartment's living room. Blood is starting to pool from his bullet wound in his head._

_Lana smiles as she looks in the box. She is pleased. Eighteen diamonds. She puts the box in her shoulder bag, along with the silenced Sig-sauer. Calmly she walks out, dialling her mobile._

_The phone connects to a message box in Moscow. "Sergei has put the deposit down." Lana speaks, then hangs up._

Shannon keenly watches Lana strolling over to where Connor is reading. This is what passes for entertainment in this crap-hole. This should be worth watching.

"Hi." Connor looks up. Lana smiles. "Hi." Connor replies curiously. "What are you reading?"

That's the most suckiest chat up line ever. Shannon nervously thinks. She looks over to Shannon for support.

None comes.

"It's some novel greek guys fighting in ancient Greece."

An uninvited Lana sits down next to him. Connor looks round, and spies Shannon watching them, this is a bloody set up.

"I'll get Jack to have a look at that scrape." Kate smiles to Eve, as they arrive back at the beach. Both have come back from a foraging mission, fruit to beef up the supplies from the bunker. It's been a good day. Eve has a good knack of climbing trees. Eve rubs her bleeding elbow.

"My grand parents don't let me climb trees."

"Why don't they?"

"Girls don't climb trees!" Eve mocks their voices.

"Yeah we're not sup…"

Kate stops abruptly. She sees Connor, with Lana, and Lana is laughing and joking.

Leave it!

She sighs deeply, and walks on. Eve quickly catches up.

One of the other survivors, Matt doubles over in agony. He has not been feeling well for a couple of days now. He feels like a there is a fire in his stomach. Steve and Jess watch concerned.

He is sick, and onto the white sands spills a mix of red and blackish liquid.

Jess screams.

Connor stops talking with Lana, and runs over. Kate stops staring daggers at Lana, and runs over. Jack stops talking with Hurley, and both run over. Sayid looks up, and runs over. Lana watches in horror.

"_That's fine Miss Tolstev, you're booked on Oceanic Flight 815 to Los Angeles." Lana raises her sun glasses and smiles, at the check in receptionist. There is a queue forming behind her. A desperate looking Jack is checking his watch. Lana thinks to herself. _

_I'm home and dry._

Matt is coughing up more blood. Jess stands over him in horror, and starts to scream.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi, this is the continuation of Fire and Ice, where the survivors face a new threat..._

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 4**

…**some you lose**

Matt coughs up more blood, not as thickly as before. His breathing is shallow and laboured, as he is placed on the bottom bunk in the bunker. He is feverish; his skin looks as though it has been drained of colour. Jack begins to cut away his blood encrusted red t-shirt with scissors, as the convulsions stop again. Jack watches him carefully.

A solitary Sayid watches from the doorway, not saying anything. He and Connor have carried Matt here on a made up stretcher. Connor right now is getting the medical equipment from further down the corridor. An echoing of footsteps mean he's got everything he's been asked to get. Jack continues to cut away.

He stops, in horror. Instinctively he turns away as Matt has another violent spasm. Blood sprays onto the white walls. A few moments later he is still. Matt is still breathing, but this time it is weaker than earlier. Jack looks at Matt's chest, covered now in black and purple lesions. This is serious. He whispers to himself. A hand on his shoulder awakes him from his thoughts. "How is he?"

"_We operated on your son. The procedure went well." Professor Shepherd whispers. A relieved mother buries her face into her husband's shoulder. "He's going to be ok; he's being taken to ICU. You can see him soon." In the distance, a trolley is being wheeled out of the operating theatre, nurses surround it like bodyguards. A few feet behind, Jack follows them, he too he is relieved. The father shakes Professor Shepherd's hand firmly before they walk off. The trolley with an very weak eight year old boy passes by, they immediately follow. Professor Shepherd watches them, relieved, he stares down at his hands, they are trembling, he forces them to stop. He looks up, his son is staring him in the face._

"_I swear to god, one more time." Shepherd looks at him with a cold detachment, his eyes are vacant. The nurses that are in the corridor know to get out of the way._

"_We work well together Jack." He smiles, he tries to pat him on the shoulder. Jack blocks him. "You're young, idealistic, never lost a patient yet. Trust me Jack!" Shepherd calmly and coldly speaks. "You're out to save everybody. I'm afraid your life will not be like that!"_

"_If I do it won't be through my incompetence!"_

"There's nothing I can do more than make Matt more comfortable!" Jack's voice is clinical, detached, and emotionless. Sayid and Connor watch Matt, both share Jack's concern.

"What about the kit in the medical room?" Connor asks.

"It won't help."

"Why?" Sayid looks at Jack.

"Matt's dying of hemorrhagic fever. I reckon he's got less than two days!"

Jack grimly smiles. They are two of the bravest and most intelligent men he has known all his life. Yet they could not have gotten out of there fast enough. Matt is awake, lucid. He is breathing. Jack sits across from him, wearing a face mask. Matt raises his head.

"Matt are you ok?"

Matt tries to focus his vision. He shivers; his skin is slick with sweat mixed in with pustules of blood. Matt drops his head onto the pillow. Jack readies a syringe with morphine.

"I don't think so." He murmurs. "I think I'm dying."

Jack turns away. "Am I dying Jack?"

"_How is he?" Jack watches the little boy, his name is Max, sleeping. His parents at his bedside recognise Jack. "He is fine, The other doctor says he is doing fine!"_

_For a kid whose spleen has just been removed, I guess that's ok. Jack politely smiles. _

"_Won't you stay a while?" The mother asks. Jack shakes his head. "I have my rounds, I'll pop in later!"_

_The father beams a very proud smile. "You and your father are good men!"_

Matt sighs as Jack injects more morphine into a vein, unfortunately the bleeding from the injection doesn't stop. He places the syringe in a plastic bucket to be burned later

"Yes."

Matt closes his eyes. "I feel like my body is on fire. What's happening?"

"I think you have a hemorrhagic virus."

"Like Ebola – I saw the Dustin Hoffman film."

Jack nods. "Yes. Have you been bitten by something, eaten something?"

"I've felt feverish for a couple of days now. I've never been anywhere other than were we're told to go!"

Matt shakes his head. "I mean I've eaten and drunk the same food and water we all have." His voice is now edgy and panicky. His breathing is rapid. Blood trickles from his nose.

"I don't want to die." He shouts.

"What the?" A startled Jack jumps in his seat, he has fallen asleep reading Desmond's diary and notes, so far nothing, no clues to what Matt has got. A familiar "Friendly" female face greets him. Sun.

"You were asleep, I didn't wake you." Sun whispers. "I look after him with Hurley!"

"Hurley!" Jack exclaims. Hurley walks in, wearing as much rubber and latex as he deems necessary. Any other time the effect would be comical. He says something muffled. Pauses, then slides down the face mask. "I read about Ebola in a magazine once, thought it was pretty gross, but hey Matt's a friend!"

Jack leans back as Hurley cautiously walks into the room were Matt is asleep. "Thanks Hurley!"

Hurley gives a thumbs up.

"The more intelligent you are, the more things frighten you!" Sun watches. Jack sighs in agreement. "That's the truth!"

"_Mr and Mrs Tannasee. I regret to inform you that your son, despite all our best efforts died of major organ failure brought on as a result of his injuries. I am very sorry." Jack's voice is cold, emotionless. The wailing from the mother is the most awful noise he has ever heard, she collapses to the floor. The father watches numb with shock. This is a bad dream, he must be thinking._

_Jack lets the nurse's deal with them, turns and walks away. His father is watching him. They stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, before he turns and walks away down the corridor._

_Max was alive this morning. We talked about soccer._

_Congratulations Jack, you lost your first patient. He says to himself in a mocking voice._

"He started coughing up that black phlegm stuff a couple of minutes ago." Hurley says in a state of shock. Jack starts to clean up around Matt's mouth. His eyes are lifeless. Jack shines a torch into them. There is no reaction. He then checks Matt's wrist for a pulse. There is none.

"Hurley, Matt's dead."

The time is 16:42. Jack covers Matt with a blanket. His body would need to be burned along with all his clothing and bed linen.

"He said something about water." Hurley whispers. "Black water!"

Jack looks at Hurley. Too little too late.

Here we go again; it's the island book club with Lana and me. Connor groans, as he sees Lana strides toward him. He fails very badly in trying to not notice her.

Somebody else notices Lana and Connor together. Kate stops gazing at the toy plane. Eve is with Claire looking after Aaron. Lana laughs, and slaps Connor playfully on the back, at one of his jokes no doubt.

"Matt's dead." Jack sits down next to her.

A detached Kate is still staring at Connor.

"That's a shame." She replies, with no emotion. "What did he die of?"

"I don't know, I just don't know."

Lana lies seductively in front of Connor. Licking her lips, and flicking her hair. She's coming onto me. Connor smiles politely. She's just a lonely girl, a foreigner lonely, with nobody to look after her. Why not?

"So what is it with you and Kate?" Lana smiles.

"It's a long story." Connor winks.

"We've got plenty of time!" Lana winks. "It's going to be a cold night!"

"I'll get a fire going, and Sayid, Shannon, and Vincent can join us . It'll be really cosy!"

Lana laughs. "You certainly know how to wow a girl."

Kate glares at them. Lana shouts over to Shannon, who joins them. Sayid brings over some branches for the fire that Connor is preparing. Vincent muzzles up beside Shannon. Claire brings Aaron over with Eve, who jumps onto Connor's lap laughing. This is just great, campfire, all we just need now is…

Charlie with his guitar joins them.

"That's going to be some party."

"You've left Hurley alone with Sun." Jack nods.

"I think they could do with the company!" Kate gets up and walks away.

Jack gets up and walks down to the campfire. Connor and Sayid make room for him.

Jess stops what she is doing. Her head is pounding. She stumbles just as Kate walks past.

"Are you okay?" A concerned Kate sits her down. Jess nods. "Just dizzy." Kate hands Jess her water bottle. Jess opens it and takes a gulp. She goes to hand it back to Kate. Kate waves it away. "You keep it."

Jess coughs again. "You want me to get Jack?"

"No I'm okay."

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 4**

**A night to remember part 1**

The jungle is quiet, there is life, some birds hoot high in the canopy. Long grass rustles in the moonlight, as a figure slowly steps. Locke is back to where he knows where he is comfortable, out in the island, not in the bunker inputting numbers onto a computer screen.

Locke stops, and listens. The slight breeze rustles throughout the jungle, down from the hills, and through the valley. Something is not right, he thinks. He is an hour away from the bunker, two hours from the beachside camp.

They are coming!

He turns and runs in the direction of the beachside camp.

Eve is curled up underneath a blanket beside a dying fire, sleeping peacefully. Connor watches her, walks a few metres to his shelter. He contemplates some reading; however the ever darkening night prevents this from happening. He yawns, lies down and closes his eyes.

"_Uncle Connor." A voice crys out. Connor wakes up to a tugging on his arm. It is his four year old niece Emily. Connor wakes up concerned, concerned that she is not sleeping in the tent beside her older sister Amy._

"_What's up cupcake?" He gently smiles. This camping trip is proving to be a nightmare._

"_I need a wee wee."_

_A laugh is heard coming from the sleeping bag across from him. "Why's Aunt Lesley laughing?"_

_Connor grins, as his yawning younger sister opposite the campfire across from him, looks at him. "Because your Uncle Connor made a bet with Lesley, and your Uncle now owes your Aunt."_

_Lesley gets up and walks over to Amy, via Connor who slaps a crisp ten dollar bill into her palm._

"_Come on cup-cake." She gently whispers._

_Emily and Amy are asleep in the tent. "I give Emily another two hours." Lesley smiles and checks her watch. "That'll be one am." Connor glances at a mischievously smiling Lesley. _

"_Emily asked me if there were any grizzly bears in the forest!" Lesley smiles._

"_There are no bears in this forest." Connor sighs._

"_I told her that!"_

"_Then what's keeping her awake?"_

_Something stirring in the forest both answers them._

Lana wakes up. There is a commotion going on at the other end of the camp. Vincent runs into the jungle, followed by Shannon, and then Sayid.

Connor sees them too, he contemplates following but decides against it.

"_That's not a grizzly bear!" Connor mutters, slowly getting up._

_There is a low audible growl._

"_That's definetly not a grizzly bear." Lesley gets up along side him. The hunting rifle that they packed, is now firmly in Connor's hands._

_From a forest clearing, rustling is heard, and in the light of the camp fire it is seen. A fully grown adult mountain lion emerges. It stops, and growls, five feet from the tent._

_Connor cocks the rifle. One more foot, and I get to mount you above the fire place._

_Suddenly Emily pokes her head out of the tent. She looks at Connor, then looks in the opposite direction. She screams. The mountain lion growls, and moves forward._

_Connor fires._

Gun shots ring out. Eve wakes up startled. So does the rest of the camp. Aaron is heard whimpering. People start to stir. The voices are nervous and panicky. Connor listens in, all the while, prepping the assault rifle. A hand is placed on his shoulder. Connor turns round. It's Jack. A look is shared.

_Emily, and now Amy are screaming. Lesley runs into the tent to grab them. The mountain lion lies at the other edge of the tent. Connor walks over to it. Other campers in the site are running over in their direction. There is still life in its eyes as Connor aims again. He fires._

Connor is handed a pistol, fully loaded. From the suitcase, Jack hands another reluctantly to Charlie. He takes one. There is one spare.

"Kate's at the bunker."

A figure appears, it is instantly recognisable. Locke. Nervous tension is released. Jack tosses him, the final sig-sauer. Locke catches it, and Connor hands him a full clip.

Lana nervously watches the jungle from the direction of where the shots came from. The rest of the camp is firmly behind her, frightened, their imaginations are running wild. Eve is safely with Claire and Aaron. It was very unusual for Charlie to leave her. This is the same woman, who kills without mercy. Lana mocks herself. Give me a gun!

There is a tap on her shoulder, she spins round. Connor has returned with Jack, Charlie, and Locke. Lana's heart skips a beat. "Here!" Connor hands her a glock. "Take this, stick with Claire, Aaron, and Eve!"

Lana nods. Connor glances in the jungle's direction. Lana looks with him. "They're coming!" Lana breaths deeply. "The shots?"

"I think they have guns."

"Sayid and Shannon?"

"We're not going out there in the dead of the night!" Connor replies. "They're on their own."

There is a line of crude booby traps and warning devices, a hundred meters in front of them. To the left, Locke is the closet to the jungle, behind a fallen palm tree. Jack and Charlie are in the centre, crouching behind a vacated shelter. Connor to the right, behind rocks closest to the beach, assault rifle providing the widest arc of fire. One of the camp survivors, Ed, has volunteered to run to the bunker.

As if Kate and a couple of extra shotguns and rifles will make a difference. Connor sneers, as he crouches down.

There is movement!

Connor raises his head. A figure appears, carrying something, between two of the booby traps. Connor takes aim. He sees Locke do the same, Charlie follows suit. Jack hesitates.

"Help me!" A familiar voice screams. Everybody recognises it. Sayid. Jack gets up. Who's that he is carrying?

"That's Shannon." Charlie says.

"If that's Sayid and he's carrying Shannon." Connor whispers. "Who the hell are those?" He points to the groups of figures emerging from the jungle. He slowly counts them, five, with two carrying a stretcher.

One of the group runs towards the encampment. Connor arms the rifle. Takes aim, with his finger on the trigger. They killed Shannon, and followed Sayid to the encampment. This is not good.

"Jack it's me Michael."

Relieved, there is audible sighs of tension being released.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 6**

**The morning after…**

Shannon is dead. Jack tried valiantly, as always. However with gunshot wounds to the stomach, she lost a lot of blood, bled out, and died cradled in Sayid's arms. The camp's mood is that it is too early to waken up, and yet too late to sleep. Her body is hidden away from view, in her own shelter.

Jack appears. Connor beckons Lana to watch over Sayid, whilst he walks away and Locke walks over.

"How is he?" Jack watches Lana place a blanket around Sayid. Locke watches too. "I've been where he's going, it's not pretty." Locke and Lana trade glances. "He'll need us in the next few days."

"What do we do now?"

Connor watches Kate tend to a very badly beat up Sawyer. Obviously the raft has failed; he thinks with a grim irony. Michael claps Vincent. He smiles at Rose hugging her husband, Bernard for dear life. It must be nice having faith. He notices Eve walking amongst the other survivors, looking up at their faces. Connor turns away, her grand-parents aren't amongst them. Sun and Jin walk away to the edge of the beach, no doubt exchanging sweet nothings.

Ain't this a happy reunion. He turns away.

She is sitting alone. Ana-Lucia is clutching a pistol. Connor recognises it as one of the Marshall's which was given to Sawyer, which means. She shot Shannon. He still has the handcuffs. Lana appears beside him.

"Too much has happened tonight. Let's wait until morning."

The sun breaks over the horizon. The beach camp comes back to life.

"How is he?" Kate looks up. Connor watches a sleeping Sawyer. Patched up. "He's in a bad way." Kate wipes his forehead. "Jack wants to move him to the bunker."

"Let me know when, and I'll help." Kate thinly smiles. "Thanks." Connor walks away. Kate stands up. "Connor."

Connor turns around. "Was Eve's grand-parents amongst them?" Kate asks.

Connor shakes his head. "No – have you seen her ?"

Kate shakes her head. Glances are traded. "I'll look for her!"

_The bedsit is filthy, squalid, from behind dirty curtains sun-light streams in, in the distance Sydney harbour bridge can be seen. Eve is huddled in the corner, wearing dirty jeans and a T-shirt. A TV blares in the corner, cartoons, Totally Spies is on her favourite. A woman walks in, unkempt, most people would guess she's in her late thirties, however Aileen Stevens is twenty-three, and Eve's mother. The man snoring in the double bed, unshaven, is her latest boyfriend._

"_Eve honey, turn the TV down, Bobbie's got to sleep." Aileen lies up on the beside Bobbie, she's just been in the bathroom shooting up. Aileen falls into a heroine induced slumber._

_Eve turns down the TV, and carries on watching. From the corridor, there is loud banging on the door._

_Three days previously._

"_That's Eve?" Edward Mars looks at the photograph of a pretty blonde haired girl aged five. The elderly couple in their early sixties both nod anxiously. Mars coolly looks at them. They're genuine, both the state of California, and the Australian authorities have granted the grand-parents full custody. In the California case, Aileen skipped the country before the police and social services battered down her apartment door. Mars sips his coffee._

"_It's lucky we met on the plane over." He says. The trail for Kate Austin has gone cold, she'll turn up. I just have to pass the time._

"_The local police have helped all they can, we think we know were she is. It's not the place were me and my wife could just turn up." The grandfather says._

_Mars nods. "Ok, I'll help you out. As soon as I get her, you take her straight to a police station, make up some story, and she'll be back with you in the states in no time."_

"I didn't kill her." Ana-Lucia forlornly says. Jack sits across from her. Behind him stands Locke, behind Ana-Lucia, stands a very intimidating black African man, called Eko. Connor strolls past, Charlie is checking the other end of the camp for Eve. She's disappeared. Eve where are you?

"_Hello." Eve answers the door. Mars smiles. He crouches down. "You must be Eve." He smiles, it is something he is very unaccustomed to doing. Eve nods._

"_Eve, I'm a police-man sent by your grandpa and grandma." Mars doesn't need to say any more, Eve's face lights up. "Would you like to see them?" Eve nods._

"Where is she." Snarls Sayid, he storms in the direction of Ana-Lucia. The small group is startled by his sudden angry presence. Locke and Jack try to restrain him. Ana-Lucia backs off. Eko stands beside her.

Connor watches, and walks on.

Eve has walked for an hour now, no-body is aware that she is gone. She is alone, really alone now. Kate told her of a spot where she goes when she wants to be alone. It's a small ledge on a cliff. She's been here before with Kate, but has been told not to come here alone.

Eve approaches the edge of the cliff. She hears the crashing of waves against the cliffs. Suddenly the ground gives way. Eve screams, as she falls down the cliff.

She slides, trying to grip onto something, and at the last moment, her jumper snags onto a sharp rock.

Connor looks at his watch, and then at the sky, the sun is setting. There is still no sign of Eve.

"She'll turn up." Lana says. "Claire says that she always wonders off for a few hours." Connor looks around in frustration.

"She's probably back at the camp."

Connor sighs. "You're right." Lana offers a reassuring smile. "It is very dark soon, I would be home soon."

Eve looks down, wide eyed in fear. The waves crash onto rocks, hundreds of metres below.

"Help." She screams.

The wind carries her voice.

"So would I!" Connor remarks.

Lana is about to reply, when both of them hear it. Lana stops. "That is…"

Connor hears it on the wind too. "Eve"

"Connor." Both Lana and Connor reach the point where the cliffs are. It is night-fall now as Connor peers over the edge. He sees Eve standing on a ledge. Lana joins alongside him. Boulders and bits of gravel slide down the cliff. It's not good. Connor thinks.

"Eve." He shouts. "Stay where you are, we'll get you out." He looks into the jungle behind him; material necessary for a rescue is not in abundance.

"I will stay here." Lana peers down. "Connor will go and get help."

Connor runs into the beachside camp. His face is badly gashed from a fall earlier on. Michael and Charlie alerted by his shouting, greet him.

Connor falls onto his knees, struggling for breath, as more alerted survivors join them.

"It's Eve, she's fallen down a cliff, she's on a ledge."

"Do you think they'll come?" Eve says. Lana gently smiles. "Yes, they will all come." She is using her jacket as a pillow to lean on. "For you I think everybody will come."

"I ain't going out in the dark man!" A tail end survivor shouts. Connor glares at him. "There's things' out there hunting us!"

"We're not leaving Eve out there over-night." Charlie says, standing inches from the man's face. "Count me in Connor!" He says shaming the man.

Michael appears through the crowd. "I've got about one hundred metres worth of rope. I'm in." Jin says something in Korean. "I guess that's four." Jin's smiles match that of Connor.

"I'm coming too Connor." Bernard steps into view, he smiles at Rose. "Five."

"I'm a clinical Psychologist, but I can pull a rope if need be." Libby says slinging her day-sack over her shoulder. "Six"

A bulky figure stands next to Connor. Connor looks round. Eko stands next to him. He nods. "Save the child we must."

"Seven."

"Connor." Michael says. "Come on, we've got enough."

_Mars watches the reunion from a distance. Both grand-parents hug Eve for dear life. Two child protection officers escort them into an MPV, there is still some formalities to complete, but Eve is back with people who will love and care for her. There is a faint trace of a smile across Mars's face. This is what it feels like to be human, he thinks._

Gravel and more rocks fall into the ocean. Connor looks up.

Very firm hands wrap a rope around Eve's waist. Connor tries not to think, as he is standing an inch from hundreds of foot drop. He gives Eve the thumbs up, a wide-eyed Eve gives a thumbs up. Connor looks up. "Okay, pull."

Lana leads, with Charlie, Jin, Bernard, Libby, Michael and Eko anchors the line. The two different sets of survivors pulling together.

Not a single person that night went to sleep before checking in on Eve, who was asleep in Connor's shelter. The big frame of Eko standing guard over her like a vigilant watch dog, intimidating even to Connor and Lana, who tip-toed in to check. A curt nod, and Connor closes the make-shift curtains.

Connor yawns, Lana smiles. "It's been a long day." Her hand slips into Connor's. "You need some rest."

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 7**

**Before night falls**

"Yo FBI dude." The dawn's early light, is blocked out. Connor strains his eyes to see up. Hurley looms over him. "I was sleeping." Connor angrily groans. He turns over, realising that Lana must have gotten up earlier. Connor stretches, and gets up. Realising he's bare chested, grabs a t-shirt. Hurley gives him a mischievous wink. If you want a secret kept in this place, don't let Hurley find out.

"What's up?" Connor rinses his mouth out with water, before spitting it out. "We're one short!" Connor stops, not Eve, again. The heart stopping moment is cut short, when he sees Eve running with Vincent in the surf. "Somebody go missing?" He turns to Hurley.

"Jess." Connor sighs. "No body has seen her for four days dude!"

Connor looks around, come to think of it, things have been quiet around here.

"Jack wants to organise a search party!" Connor spies Lana walking along the beach, in a pink t-shirt, and blue sarong. Hurley looks in the same direction. Then at Connor, and nods. Connor grins in reply. "So you and the Russian chick?"

"Lithuanian!" Connor corrected. "We're friends."

Hurley's eyes narrowed in a conspiratorial glare. "Sure!"

"We're meeting at the bunker in one hour!"

"I always wondered what happens if we don't punch in the numbers?" Connor leans over Michael's shoulder, at the counter. Michael stares at the computer screen. Nothing, since, a few nights ago. The attempt at humour doesn't work.

"We'll get Walt back." Connor whispers. Michael nods forlornly. "You ever lost a child?" Connor's look cannot answer that. He pats Michael on the shoulder, before walking down the corridor. The dormitory where Matt died is still closed. Connor takes a moment to look at the pictures on the wall. They look the same stuff his nieces decorated his apartment with, whilst he was recovering. Voices down the corridor mean something has already started without him.

He leans against the doorway.

"You're late!" Kate moans.

"Sorry I was chasing some horses!" Chuckles Connor. Across the room, the remark brings a sharp look from Kate, the companions in the room turn away, with Kate's who told him look. A resigned sigh, and the room is quiet again. Connor looks over at Ana-Lucia, a cold Hispanic woman, she sits beside Eko. Locke is at one end of the room, Jack at the other. No Sayid, though given what has happened, I think Ana-Lucia will be glad of him not coming.

"I've checked the camp, not a sign, she's gone. Her stuff is still here." Connor briefs them. "Given the excitement over the past couple of days, it's hardly surprising!"

"I recommend everybody go in pairs, when they venture out." Ana-Lucia says. "They sense weakness."

Connor nods in agreement, so does Locke.

"What do we do about the missing child?" Eko stands up, and says forcefully. Silence greets his question.

"This is a pretty big island." Locke says, gesturing his hands around him. "This tunnel system and bunker could be the norm."

"Plus that thing." Kate adds nervously. "That is not something to worry about!" Locke glares at Kate. Jack steps into his line of sight. "Our first priority is finding Jess, wherever she is." Connor watches, a bemused observer. "Then we can organise a search for Walt." Michael adds standing in the doorway next to Connor. Locke looks at him, nervously, you should be elsewhere. "Don't worry I've got five minutes."

Jack forces himself to look at Michael. "Yeah, we'll do that!"

"Four teams – two in each." Connor watches faces in the huddle around his map. "Myself, and Eko, team one. Locke, Anna Lucia team two. Sayid and Libby, team three. Connor notices a defiant Kate standing beside Lana, this isn't a good idea, if there ever was one. "Kate and Lana, team four. We take knifes, pistols, drinking water, and bottle rockets." Connor feels the wind blowing off the ocean, it is laden with moisture, there is a monsoon coming, in a few hours. "We cover a four hour radius, then work our way back. We find Jess, light the rockets, watch out, we only have a couple left."

"If you sense anything wrong, get out of there." Eko adds.

"Michael, Charlie, and Bernard will take it in turns to observe the skyline, any rocket fired, all teams are to converge on the area."

Connor looks around, and winks at Lana. "Lets be careful out there." Lana blushes.

Lana falls to the ground with a thud, Kate watches her with an unsympathetic look, before carrying on. Lana gets up, rubs her arm, and then walks on. A stream runs nearby. In the distance, a waterfall is heard. To cross the stream, they both must cross slippery boulders. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate watches Lana catch up. She's been only one hour in the jungle, and already she can't hack it. Kate then starts out across the boulders. Lana, reluctantly follows behind. Precariously balanced on a stone, she struggles.

Before slipping into the water. Kate watches from a few boulders ahead. The faint trace of a smirk, is quickly hidden by a scowl, as Lana scrubs herself down, and carries on.

"I think we'll rest for five minutes." Kate smiles, Lana shakes her head. "I am fine, I am good." Lana says, as she plods on by. If looks could kill, Kate mutters.

Lana stares up into the jungle canopy. Sunlight, barely reaches the jungle floor. The air is heavy with trapped moisture, Lana wipes her face with a dry towel, moments before Kate brushes on past her, pissed off that Lana had not only caught up with her, but overtaken her.

"At high school, I was in the orienteering team." Lana strolls alongside her. Kate smiles. "So was I."

"I was the Captain too." Lana smiles, as she accelerates her pace.

Kate stops. I've been this way before. Lana stops, she's seen what Kate saw when she came this way. The forward section of the Oceanic Airways 777 is ahead, it is almost being strangled by vines, and the undergrowth. Lana has seen it too. I wonder?

"Lana." Kate shouts, as Lana sprints towards the cockpit. Kate runs after her. Stupid bitch, what is it about that cockpit, first Charlie, now Lana. The terror, she felt in their, seeing the co-pilot's terror, as he was snatched away. There's no Jack here too.

Lana, shines a torch into the cockpit. There is row upon row of airline seats, the stench is overpowering. Lana covers her mouth and nose, as she goes deeper inside. Skeletal human remains of some passengers are still there. Lana shines a torch into each row, scans the lit area for a moment before moving on.

Lana jumps with a start, as Kate accidentally trods on an empty water bottle. The crunching sound echoes in the still jungle. Lana scowls, as Kate winches.

For a moment both scowl, then smile. "Lets move on, Jess isn't here!" Lana says.

Bitch!

How dare she!

Lana thinks, as Kate leads her, away from the cockpit, and back the way they came from. For the moment, you're the one with the gun now. Lana remembers she has the knife. Lana's eyes narrow. Now is not the time.

Kate stops suddenly by the river bank. Lana wonders if she said something out loud. No, she's looking at something. Lana joins alongside her. There is blood in the water flowing downstream. Both scan upstream.

"Jess!" Kate shouts. There is figure lying on the rocky shore, half naked, with short brunette hair, her skin a ghastly shade of white. Lana jumps into the stream, and starts to wade upstream in the thigh deep water, a louder splash behind her, Kate joins alongside her.

"Jess!" Lana shouts even louder.

There is some movement from the figure. It's Jess, injured, but alive.

"She's hurt, but she's alive." Lana says excitedly, as they are but a few feet away. Kate stops Lana, by placing a hand over on Lana's shoulder. Lana breaths deeply.

Jess is covered in the same bruises and lesions that they have seen before. On Matt.

"Damn." Lana shouts. Kate stares in disbelief, at the two water sodden bottle rockets in Lana's hands. Lana looks at Jess, wrapped in a blanket, barely conscious. "It must have been when I fell in the stream." Kate groans, as Lana looks away.

"We'll have to carry her back!" Kate whispers. "She's dying."

Lana watches Jess, for a moment. "She could die, while we take her back."

Kate stares at Lana. "I'm not leaving her." Lana sighs.

"You're faster than me. I will stay with her." Lana walks over. "If you go now." Kate looks up at the ever blackening sky, with Lana. "You can be back before nightfall."

Kate hands a few extra bottles of water, and the revolver to Lana. "Find some shelter, just in case." Lana nods. "Good luck."

Kate starts to walk away. Lana watches her. Kate suddenly turns round. "You did good Lana!"

"You did good Lana!" Lana mimicks Kate's voice. Kate has been gone for over an hour. Lana watches Jess, she is shivering, even underneath the blanket, her breathing is shallow. She starts to cough. Lana stands up. "What's the point!" She whispers. Jess slowly turns her head around.

"Lana is that you?"

"Yes" Lana replies, picking up a water soaked rag. "I've got what Matt had, haven't I?" Jess whispers weakly. Lana looks at Jess. "I think you've got a fever." Lana smiles, it's not a warm one. "Jack'll fix you up!"

Lana kneels down next to Jess, dapping her forehead with the rag.

Jess weakly smiles. "I'd prefer Connor myself!" Lana's smile disapeers. "You can't have him!"

Jess thinking Lana is joking, carries on. "I saw him first!"

Lana is lost in thought for a moment. "No, I think I saw him first!" Lana harshly whispers, as she sharply shoves the rag over Jess's nose and mouth, and holds it firmly in place. Jess struggles against Lana's grip. Lana's strength pins Jess to the ground as her struggle to breathe gets more desperate.

After fifteen minutes, Lana stands up. Jess's eyes stare at her too but they are lifeless, dead. Lana smiles. "You can't have anybody now." Lana sits down.

"You okay Lana?" Jack wraps a blanket around a rain sodden Lana. Connor, and Locke, a few feet wrap Jess's body in plastic sheeting, this will be placed on a make shift stretcher. Eko and Sayid watch from opposite ends of the embankment, looking out into the jungle.

Lana nods, sobbing. "She started to cough and have seizures, I tried."

"You tried your best." Lana, feels the warmth in Kate's hands. "Jess wasn't alone when she died, you were with her!" Lana's lifeless eyes stare out into the night.

"I thought Connor was going to kill me." Charlie stares out into the rain soaked beach from his shelter. Hurley nods. "Got that right. Dude, you gotta have eyes in the back of your head when watching Eve."

"Two bloody hours. She was gone." Both stare into the next shelter. Eve is watching the rain too, or appears to be.

Eve stares at the object in the palm of her hand whilst Claire and Aaron sleep. She found lots of them, while looking for fruit for Mr Sawyer. In a blue day-sack. It sparkles, like magic. She smiles. Like angel dust. There is no way that she is going to tell anybody about these, besides only she knows where they are now hidden.

"Dude, Eve is nothing but trouble!" Both nod in agreement.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 8**

**Logic dictates…**

"How's Lana?" Connor looks up from the campfire in the caves. Kate sits down across from him, from the smell emanating from her tin cup, its coffee, freshly poured. Connor looks across at her through the flames. "She's ok, not very talkative. It's Understandable really." He shrugs his shoulders. "We've lost too many people in the past couple of days. Matt, Shannon, and now Jess. I'd give anything to rewind the past couple of days."

A sympathetic smile is shared from across the campfire. "How about years?" Connor nods.

A mars bar is dropped into Connor's lap, as Sayid walks by, and sits down next to Kate. Aside from the flickering of the camp fire, the only other sounds is of the rain, which is now torrential, the stream of water inside caves, and Eko's snoring. Locke and Jack are asleep, as is Lana, with Sun watching over her. Jess's body is in a corner of the cave. Weather permitting, her body will be burned, and a marker placed at the beach, along with the others.

"Two deaths, same symptoms. What's the connection?" Connor exclaims, unwrapping the chocolate bar. "My friend, we are all tried after a not very good day." Sayid gently retorts Connor, who starts devouring the chocolate. "I grant you, Matt and Jess have been exposed to much the same conditions as us all. Logic dictates, that they have both been exposed to something that we haven't – yet." Sayid says, deep in thought, sipping his coffee. Where the hell is Kate's coffee supply?

"You're starting to sound like Spock!" Kate jokes.

Connor laughed. "They don't get Star-trek in Iraq!"

Sayid grins. "Yes we did, though we all rooted for the klingons!"

Kate laughs. Connor groans in good jest. "We're doomed Cap'n, we've got a trekkie in our midst!" He jokes in a mock Scottish accent.

Lana is not in the mood for company. That is hardly surprising. Connor walks to where he is sleeping tonight, behind some rocks just at the cave's entrance. He then notices them. Dozens of them are filled, he recognises them as the mineral bottles used by oceanic, everybody drinks from them. He picks one up. The seals are broken, they're always broken, everybody uses them. Everybody marks their own. He smiles, this one is Jack's. He then sighs, people fill up, and leave their empties, and collect them.

Son of a bitch!

"Man – this place never surprises you." Drawled Sawyer. The survivors watch from a distance, as Jess's body burns in a swallow pit. Connor rolls his eyes in disgust.

"Horrible diseases, psychotic killers, man eating monsters, talking computers, and don't get me started on Ana-Lucia!" Sawyer rants. "Did somebody check the flight manifest for Alfred Hitchcock and Mulder and Scully?"

A couple of other survivors, look at Sawyer in distaste. Connor looks over at Lana, she's with Kate, Claire and Libby. Moral support. Sawyer looks in that direction too. "Must've been horrible to watch. Is that why Lana's with the shrink?"

Connor sighs. The conversation is getting wearing. The crowds are starting to disperse. "The only thing horrible, is that haircut." Connor softly says to Sawyer's face, before walking away.

Sawyer laughs. "You're just jealous."

Connor turns round. "Kate used to do mine with clippers." He says.

The earth is patted with a shovel. Locke watched Connor, before handing him a bottle of water. Connor removes the make-shift face-mask. The odour is still there, but it was less than before.

Connor looks round at the make-shift cemetery.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Locke smiles, sitting down on a rock, his voice concerned father like.

"If I know my diseases, what should have killed Matt and now Jess, should be striking us all down!"

"Jack's the doctor, what does he think."

"He doesn't want to know. Too much on his mind!" Locke frowns, as Connor hammers down a wooden cross. Like looking at scores to settle.

"No sign of Michael?"

Locke nods. "I doubt you could have made any difference out there." It's a smile, a gentle one. "We're now done three pistols and a rifle, Locke. Jack's ego sometimes get the better of him." Connor exclaims. Locke raises his hand. "What's your explanation."

"It's not airborne, there were no insect bites on Matt or Jess, it's not the food, and its definitely not the water."

"Sherlock Holmes, once said if you eliminate the obvious, and what is left, no matter how implausible, must be the answer. I know you Connor, I think you know the answer."

Connor looks at the bottle of water, opens it, and tips it over. The water all pours out. Locke looks at the puddle, then Connor.

"Somebody is poisoning the water when its in the bottle!"

"Who?"

Connor looks into the jungle. Locke looks along with him. "I wasn't here when Ethan was around, but the way he ghosted in past your makeshift defence and killed Scott, then more of less kicked the four of you in the ass. I'm certain; somebody wants us off this island."

"They've killed, and kidnapped our own. So why not try something more subtle, but more effective!"

In the fading light of the bunker, the atmosphere is not welcoming and warm. Locke stares at Jack, he knows where this is going.

"This is insane." Connor leans back in resignation, at Jack's outburst. "It's the only plausible explanation." Ana-Lucia shakes her head, from behind Jack. Connor catches sight of Locke, he's not happy at the way this is going.

"This is entirely plausible!" Locke argues.

"Okay what do you want." Ana-Lucia whispers. Connor and her lock eyes. "Four pistols, four volunteers, we stake out the caves with live bait."

Jack sighs, there are only four pistols left.

"Only for a couple of nights Jack, if it works, we'll stop this at the source. If it doesn't, you'll get to see me, one of your biggest rivals, fall flat on his ass."

Connor thinly smiles. You'll just love that.

Connor looks at the open haliburton with grim satisfaction. Locke handles the Glock, Connor takes the Sig-sauer. "I thought he'd never give in." Locke grins.

"It's simple really, you just have to appeal to him." Connor slots in a magazine. "Me, you. We need two others."

"Is this a private party." Connor smiles at the drawl, as Sawyer walks up. "Word is you're going on a little hunt!" He grins.

"More like a stakeout. You want in?" Connor grins in reply. Sawyer nods. "For some pay back!" He says seriously. Locke slowly and very reluctantly hands over the Beretta to Sawyer. "That's three."

A figure brushes between, Sawyer and Connor, and takes the Smith and Wesson. From the tied back long dark hair, its Kate. She looks at Connor. "Do you mind?"

"Go right ahead!"

It's starting to get dark; I really don't need this conversation. Charlie follows Connor to the edge of the camp.

"I'm not blaming you, she can be very slippery at times." Connor grin, doesn't calm Charlie's nerves. "She's usually got Vincent with" Connor spies Vincent asleep alongside Sayid. Oh Crap!

Connor turns round, then spies Eve walking towards them, with a makeshift bow and arrow. Unaware of the commotion she has caused she walks right on by them.

Connor checks his watch. Back before teatime, just as they agreed. An embarrassed Charlie turns away, murmuring something with the words, bloody, fool, and kid.

"If she wanders off again, and I'm not around, get Lana or Kate." Connor checks his watch, then slaps Charlie on the back.

"Good luck Connor!" Charlie whispers

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 9**

**Variables**

Simple plans work the best. Connor remembers the words of his instructor at Quantico. The more variables you add to them, the more chance that they'll be a fuck up.

A sliver of cold rain runs down his back. Perched on a tree, Connor has a commanding view of both entrances to the cave. Sawyer watches one entrance concealed in some bushes, and Locke is nowhere to be seen, the master that he is. Kate is pretending to sleep, ten yards away from the bottles. Reluctantly Hurley is in there too, too late to return for the regular water supply run, hey his snoring adding to the illusion.

Lana is safely back at the beach, unusually the antagonism between her and Claire has been forgotten. She's still blaming herself for Jess's death. Strange as it seems, I miss her. Connor muses. He wipes the water from his face. Well if they are trying to contaminate the water, we have plenty of alternatives. He watches Sawyer start to give him the thumbs up, then point and crouch down.

Connor follows Sawyer's line of sight. Movement, two hundred metres away, a figure is moving through the jungle.

Shit!

The figure is moving very slowly very deliberate. From the shadows of trees to other trees. There are two barely audible whistles. Locke has seen the figure too.

The figure stops. It appears to be looking around. Okay you're being cautious, you didn't hear that.

The figure appears to be calculating their next move. The rain is starting to get worse. Just go into the caves however you are. The figure doesn't move.

Okay plan B. One hundred yards away, Sawyer and Connor exchange glances, Locke will follow suit. Keeping one eye on the figure, Connor slowly starts to climb down. What the!

The pistol he'd placed beside him on the branch, is slick from the rain, in horror, Connor watches it fall the fifteen feet, straight into a puddle of rain-water.

The splash might as well have been a bomb going off. Connor groans.

The figure, stands up with a start, and looks in the direction of Connor, then turns round. Connor sees Sawyer run straight at the figure. Connor forgets about the pistol, and runs at the figure too. The figure sees them both, and starts to run into the jungle, with Connor and Sawyer following.

Kate is waiting inside the caves, the temptation to use a pillow on Hurley is rapidly becoming an attractive option. Somebody else in the camp, used to snore as well. She pulls a blanket tighter to her, as she watches the flickering flames of a fire. The day dreaming is broken by the clap of distant thunder.

Did this individual try out for the Olympic sprint team?

Connor is one hundred metres behind the figure, who is sprinting from tree to tree, jumping across ditches in the jungle floor. Connor, hears Sawyer panting behind him. This can't go on much…

The figure slips, and falls.

Did I just doze off?

Kate checks her watch, concerned that she did. Hurley is still snoring. It is still raining outside. She relaxes. If Hurley is still snoring, then who is that shadow?

She watches for a few moments, motionless. The shadow stops. The pistol is now clenched in her hands.

The figure writhes on the ground, clawing at the mud in a vain effort to get up. Connor leaps at it, knocking the struggling figure down. The figure roars in agony, as again it tries to escape. Connor twists one of its arms around it back. There is more screams of agony. Sharper and higher pitched. A stunned Sawyer, watches in amazement, as Connor pins the figure to the ground. Its legs are kicking up a fury. Connor panting, pulls out his hand-cuffs, and in an action done dozens of times before, slaps them on. A grin of satisfaction spreads across his face. He looks up at Sawyer. "Thanks for the help." He says in between breaths. Connor looks down at the figure, who is now staring up at him. It's a teenage girl!

"Isn't that a switch!"

The sound of three pistol shots being fired echo through the night.

"Dude what the…"

The figure turns round with a start, as Hurley wakes up. The figure is powerfully built, and massive. From across the fire, Kate raises the pistol. There is the unmistakable sound of something being unsheathed, a knife, it shines in the dying light. The figure steps towards Hurley, who is paralysed by fear. Kate aims, and squeezes the trigger.

"What the hell!"

Connor stares at the scene panting. Dark red crimson matter is sprayed across the cave wall, the figure leans against it. Red bubbles trickle from its mouth. Hurley's eyes are wide in terror, so are Kate's. Thunder echoes across the night. Connor looks at them both, then at the figure.

"You both look like you've seen a ghost."

"We have." Is all that Kate can manage in a quiet reply.

Connor crouches down in front of the figure. "I haven't seen him before!"

"Ethan." Is all that Hurley can manage.

The figure or Ethan is still breathing, only just. He has a few moments at the most. He stares at Connor. "What has started will be finished!"

A thin smile appears across his face. "Is that so?" Connor replies.

"Yes." Ethan coughs.

"Death will come swiftly from the black water!" He closes his eyes for the last time, and dies.

"Well missy, aren't you the little wildcat?" Sawyer kicks the girl in her backside into the mud. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She stares at Sawyer, who has the pistol tucked away. "You're going to do some talking!"

"What if I don't want to talk?" She calmly replies in accented English.

"I know somebody, who can make people talk." The girl stares at her hand-cuffs. "Now don't you be getting any ideas."

"I have only one." The girl, in a blink of an eye, snaps the chain of her handcuffs in half. Sawyer steps back and watches her get slowly in front of him, rubbing her wrists. Her eyes narrow!

"Ah-ha!" Connor removes a small metal case from one of Ethan's pockets. It is like a cigarette case, only slightly bigger, and thicker. He slowly flips it open. Inside it, is a sealed test tube, cushioned by cotton wool. He slowly picks it up, and holds it in the light. "Sb4223161584. Whatever that means?"

"Dude what happened to you?" Hurley says from behind him.

Sawyer stumbles into the, his face battered, bruised, and bloody. He collapses onto the floor.

"I don't know." Jack looks at the test tube in the light of the cave. Connor is cleaning himself up with a wet towel. "Check Desmond's records for whatever it is, a dead man who was alive was going to slip it into somebody's water bottle last night!"

"That was Ethan." Locke folds his arms. "We've got a corpse who should already be dead, and a teenage girl who steam-rolled Harry Potter's ass!"

"Why don't you just go and advertise that fact." Sawyer snarls from across the cave. Sun looks at him bemused. Connor ignores him, sharing a brief smile with Locke, and Jack.

Ana-Lucia walks in, Eko trailing in behind her. "Perimeter's secure!"

"We put a guard on here every night now, armed." Jack says.

"I don't think they'll try it again, but who knows!"

Connor grunts. "They just might surprise us."

"How's Sawyer?" Connor sits down beside Kate, by the beach. Kate smiles. "Bruised!"

"Ego, pride, or ass?"

Kate grins. "Would you believe all three!"

"Nope." Connor grins leans back on the towel, and closes his eyes.

"I'm sorry I shot him." Kate softly says.

"He had a knife, you saw him move towards Hurley, you acted. Besides, he was also going to spike the water with something!" Connor sighs. "He was dead already, so killing him again isn't a crime."

"Yeah, right."

Connor pats Kate on the back.

Ten metres away in the tree line in the jungle, somebody watches them. Lana stealthily observes Kate, before walking away.

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Hi, this is where things start to get serious. I promise...

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 10**

**Actions and Consequences**

"Hey!" Connor looks up from another 1960's pulp fiction novel. He smiles, as Lana sits down next to him on the beach. She smiles back, and flicks back her hair. Everything's back to normal, as she hands over a water bottle. It's been three days now since the attempted poisoning. If anything in this place could be described as normal.

"I'm sorry for being a pain in the ass." She says softly. Connor replies with a peck on her cheek. "Don't worry, I don't think anybody will be poisoning the water again." Connor puts an arm around Lana's shoulders. "Right now lets just worry about living day to day, and getting off this island!"

Connor smiles, as Hurley walks on by, grinning at him.

"Why is Hurley grinning at you?" Lana giggles. Connor grins. "Because I'm with the prettiest girl on the island."

He stares into Lana's blue eyes. Their lips touch.

"_Hey little one you take care!" An nineteen year old Lana giggles, as her older brother Andre playfully lifts her into the air. Andre jokes. _

_The soldiers on guard duty at the army base outside of Moscow, laugh as well. Andre is a popular young Lieutenant amongst the teenage army conscripts. _

"_Take this." Andre head is bent slightly forward, as Lana wraps a gold cross. "It is for luck." Andre gives her a kiss on the cheek then he hugs her. "I won't cry." She whispers. Andre is heading with his regiment to Chechnya, garrison duty. Dangerous very dangerous._

"_Hey aren't I always!" Andre confidently boasts. As he holds her hands, Lana grip slowly loosens. Andre walks backwards. He blows her a kiss, and slowly the barrack gates close._

"Hey get a room!" Sawyer shouts, as he walks past them, no doubt on another foraging mission. Lana turns away blushing. Connor sighs and stares daggers at Sawyer. Who is chuckling to himself, looking for an excuse to verbally spar with anyone.

"Sorry." Lana smiles. "We're providing some gossip for people to talk about." Connor grins. "Everybody wins!"

"Hiya Mr Sawyer!" Eve walks past Sawyer, on the beach. Another pretend hunting trip.

"Well hello. What have you got there Eve?" Sawyer carefully eyes the bag she is carrying. "Some fruit, coconuts, some passion fruit, and berries!" She grins. "I climbed up some trees to get them!" Sawyer's eyes glow. As he crouches down to Eve's eye level. "Hmm interested in a trade?" Sawyer notices that her knees are covered in cuts and scrapes.

Eve adopts a very serious face. "What do you have?"

"One IPOD broken, for fruit." Kate folds her arms, chastising Sawyer who adds the fruit to his stash.

"The IPOD isn't broken, its batteries are just need replacing Freckles." Sawyer grins. "We're going into partnership!"

Kate shakes her head. Squirrels and nuts, is what Sawyer reminds her of. "Eve's probably climbing up very tall trees, she could fall and hurt herself!"

"We shook on an agreement!" Sawyer says exasperated. "Eve isn't stupid!" Sawyer smiles. "She sees me as a role model!"

Kate manages a grunt. "I hardly think!"

"Oh, and you are!" Kate sighs and walks away. "I think Connor would like to hear this." Sawyer laughs.

"Yeah – he busy whispering sweet nothings into Lana's ear the last time I saw him."

Kate's strides become faster and longer.

"_I'm very sorry Lana!" The army Chaplin grasps Lana's hands across the table. In her hands cradle the gold cross given to Andre. A tear rolls down her cheek. "What happened?"_

"_He was on patrol near a village near Grozny." His tone is calm, but even he is upset. "His jeep hit a land mine, all were killed instantly!"_

"_His body. What about his body." Lana gasps. The chaplin shakes his head. "Lana." He whispers. "We could not find all their body parts." The Chaplin grimaces. That was not true, the Chechen separatists found them first._

"_He was a good soldier, and a good officer." The Chaplin smiled. "He was as proud of you, as you are of him."_

"We have traps, dotted about the perimeter." Locke marks on a rough sand map on the beach. Jack, Connor, Sayid, and Anna-Lucia watch keenly.

"Most of the jungle where we gather our fruit is in this area." Sayid points. "I recommend that we go in pairs to gather it in."

Connor sighs. "We scoped out alternative fresh water supplies yet?"

"The other fresh water supplies are in their territory." Jack whispers to Anna-Lucia. "We have the salt water filters in the bunker!"

"Designed for two people!" Connor interrupts. "With Michael still missing. There's no engineer to fix it!" Connor gets up. "I think the decision has already been made. You ask me, I think its crazy. They've come one way, they'll come another next time."

_Moscow, three years earlier._

"_Peace delegation." A Policeman mutters at the table, Lana is serving at. "Those Chechens want peace, they can kiss our asses!"_

"_Boris, you're getting on your soapbox again." His partner across the table smiles in jest, motioning Lana for more coffee._

"_How's you're studies coming along Lana?" He politely asks, as Lana fills his mug._

_Lana smiles. "I graduate next week, so I'm now job hunting!"_

"_Good luck. Your brother was a good man, why we're talking to those sons of whores I don't know!"_

_Lana laughs. "Please guys its Friday night, it's the weekend you're off duty!" She slaps the other Police man across the back._

"_Not for me." Boris grumbles. "Some of them are staying at the Zenith Hotel, couple of rooms. Guard duty." He sips his coffee. "The boys at the station don't like it one bit."_

_A wall in Lana's apartment is filled with newspaper cuttings and pictures. She stares at them. Then she looks across Moscow from her window. The Moscow-Zenith Hotel can be seen. It is Saturday morning. She turns and looks at the mounted picture of her brother. In her hands, is an eight shot pistol. On the dressing table, is her last will and testament. She slips the pistol into her pocket. Her decision is made._

Lana watches, a few hundred metres away is Kate walking towards Connor. Something is up. She crouches down and claps Vincent, watching the discussion. They talk for a short while; Kate's body language is defiant, and tense. Connor folds his arms. Not a good sign. He turns to walk away, he stops, and then points a finger at Kate, then in the direction of Sawyer's hut. He storms off in that direction. Lana gets up. She sees Kate shaking her head, then following Connor.

"I'm not having this!" Lana whispers.

"_Look Driveshaft, we're playing a gig tonight in Moscow, our agent booked us in here!" A bemused Lana, walks past a dishevelled bunch of men, some Western Rock band, at reception. Some ugly little dwarf of a man is speaking very slowly in English. Lana sighs with contempt._

_Fourth floor is where the delegation is staying, they have a couple of rooms._

A fist slams directly into a stunned Sawyer's face. Connor stands over him, face blazing. Other survivors are running over in the fight's direction.

"I guess that's some form of greeting!" Sawyer smirks before swiping at air, Connor kicks him in the gut.

Sawyer doubles over in agony. Connor crouches down.

"Tomorrow pick your own fruit, getting a little girl to do it for you with everything else that's happening on the island, is really low!" Connor gets up, and walks away a few steps, not before Sawyer, gets up and running tackles him into the sand. Kate shouts at them both to stop.

_The lift door opens. Lana walks out, into the corridor. She sees one of the Chechen delegation talking on his mobile, business suited, and bearded. She slowly walks towards him. He hears her footsteps, turns towards her, looks, then turns away. Lana draws the pistol, raises it, and fires three shots into the man's back, from almost point-blank range._

Connor, and Sawyer glare at each other. Separated from each other by Sayid, and Jin. Jack and Locke stand between the pair. Anna-Lucia and Lana stand with Connor, who barely has a scratch on him. Sawyer on the other hand, the second time in as many days has had his ass kicked. Kate by now is walking away from this confrontation. Lana watches her with contempt.

_A man in a dressing gown, runs out of his room, in horror he watches Lana advancing towards him. Lana recognises him, as the leader of the delegation. Before he can run away, Lana fires again, four shots into the man's chest. He falls to the ground. He is still alive, when Lana stands over him._

"_This is for my brother." She whispers. Lana raises the pistol, in line with the man's face, and fires. Lana turns and runs._

"Care to explain what that was about." Jack shouts at Sawyer, then Connor. Who stare daggers at each other.

"Hey, if Eve wants to collect fruit for me that's her look-out!" Sawyer snarls. Connor edges forward sharply. Stopped by Sayid, and Locke. Connor backs off.

"You got Eve to go into the jungle to collect fruit for you!" Ana-Lucia says shaking her head. Jin looks at Sawyer in disgust, before walking away.

"Hey Eve shook on a deal. She knows where to go!" Sawyer looks round in resignation, at the six faces staring back at him. "It's not like she's in any danger!"

"Sawyer, from now on, you either get your own fruit, or you don't!" Jack says. He turns to Connor. "You, stay away." He points at Sawyer. "From Sawyer"

"Where is Eve anyway?" Connor groans, as he removes his shirt. Lana watches him. "I don't know." Lana looks at his bruised chest. "Christ-she's still out there!"

Connor struggles to get up, before he collapses onto the ground. "You're in no fit state to look for her, I'll go." Lana helps him into a comfortable position. "Thanks."

In the distance the thunder of an imminent storm echoes.

"A bit late to have a conscience now!" Charlie watches Sawyer, get up. "Yeah well, VH1 reject, sometimes the most difficult thing is to break the promise you made!"

He hobbles up. "To a child."

Sawyer snarls in pain. A rib or two must be bruised. "Besides, I've got my own fruit to get now." In the distance, thunder rumbles. Sawyer curses he knows he's going to get soaked.

"Come to gloat!" Sawyer watches Kate. A polite smile is all he gets as she walks past him. "I'm going out to find Eve." He smiles, it is completely false. "I could do with the help."

"You're on your own." She replies. "Try not to get lost."

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 11**

**When the rain comes down**

The monsoon hits the camp in a torrent. Connor watches it, whilst rubbing his bruises. He checks his watch. Lana should be back by now, with Eve. There is a crack of thunder, and the wind howls through the shelter. If they'd any sense they'd be either in the bunker or in the caves.

Kate watches the rain too. That dumb son of a bitch, Sawyer, she sighs. Getting her backpack, she heads off into the storm.

Lana mutters a curse, as she wipes the rain from her face. She marks the tree next to her, before carrying on. Eve where the hell are you?

"Eve" Lana shouts. She walks on. She is getting very close to the perimeter. On instinct, Lana draws the knife that she is carrying.

Eve is safe, she's in a shelter that she's constructed; it's really an old tree trunk, with plastic sheeting over it. She's trying to jar open a sealed box with a knife "borrowed" from Kate. It was with the diamonds she found in the blue back-pack. She is not having much success. Connor and Jack are going to be very angry with her for straying away from the camps. She hears a voice in the wind. Then there is a rattle, and the box lid pops open. She smiles. Then her eyes open wide with horror with what she sees before her.

ID Cards, with Lana's picture on them. She counts them, there are four of them. There are two more, she turns them over, these two are of Kate, but its not her name on them, she checks Lana's, Lana's name is not on them. A cell phone There is a roll of money, Australian, and US dollars. Her eyes go wide with excitement. She's gotta tell Connor about this.

"You haven't seen Eve?" Sawyer shouts at the entrance of the bunker.

"No dude – she's supposed to be back at the camp!" Hurley replies.

"Well guess what Pillsbury, she isn't there?" Sawyer snaps back. Rose and Bernard appear wondering what the commotion is. Sawyer turns tail, and heads back out into the rain.

Eve quickly hides the diamonds again. Before gathering up what she has found. She looks out into the jungle, she is about a mile from the beach. Connor will be there. She runs into the jungle, carrying the box.

"Sawyer" Kate shouts. She stops for a moment, a blind elephant was more difficult to track. She hears some-body crashing through the jungle. Realising that she hasn't packed a knife or a gun, she hesitates.

Sawyer rushes out from the under grove ten metres from Kate. A sigh of relief is breathed. Sawyer stands panting. "Well?"

"You're hands are all cut Freckles" Kate rubs them on her jeans, wincing from the pain. Sawyer looks at them, there are some deep cuts. He reaches out to touch Kate's hands, she draws them away sharply.

Sawyer recoils, taking a step back.

"I fell climbing up a tree looking for you." Kate snaps back at a following Sawyer. The rain, the cuts and Sawyer are not making her mood any better.

"Thank you." Sawyer replies, for once it sounds genuine. "I suppose we better find Eve."

Eve carries on running. Not watching where is running she runs into something. She falls onto the ground scattering the box and its contents over the muddy jungle floor. Eve looks up. She gasps in horror.

"Hey what are you doing here?" Lana smiles. "You've got a lot of people looking for you?"

Eve cannot say anything.

Lana goes to pick her up, but her eyes catch something. Lots of things. She recognises them. They were in her backpack with her diamonds, her ID cards, her cell phone, and somebody else's ID card too.

Lana remembers. It is all coming back to her. Eve tries to crawl away. Lana watches her, with a cold detachment. She sees one ID card in particular, she stops, and stares at it.

_The next time I see you, I will kill you. She remembers._

The red mist descends on Lana. She follows Eve.

Moments later, screams are heard. Child's screams. They echo, throughout the jungle.

Through the torrential rain, Kate hears them, and instinctively turns in their direction. Sawyer watches her. "Where are you going?" He shouts.

Kate stops. "I think I heard Eve!"

"Come on Freckles, she's probably back at camp." Sawyer, annoyed turns back in the direction of the beach. Kate watches as he walks off, she turns and runs.

Connor bolts upright in his shelter. The wind is howling, a plastic tarpaulin flaps, and whines as the rain batters the edges.

Lana quickly washes herself, in a puddle of rain water. The blood washes easily off her hands. She looks at her knife. It is not blood stained, and then whose knife did she use. She pauses to think. She smiles she knows whose knife she used. She used Kate's. She breathes deeply. A plan is forming.

"Eve." Kate shouts, as she stops for breath. Panting she leans against a tree. Each rain droplet stings as it hits her. She wipes her face, and carries on.

Lana hears Kate's shouts, she's about five minutes away, and smiles coolly. She stares down. Tough luck kid. She then runs away.

Kate carefully edges her way around a tree trunk. What she sees before her, is horrifying. Blood flows in a trickle, in a small stream of rain water. A few metres away she sees Eve, lying on the ground. Kate drops the day-sack she is carrying, and runs over, there is no movement from Eve as Kate falls to her knees in shock, She removes her shirt, trying to staunch a chest wound, there is still no breathing from Eve.

"Eve don't give up on me." Kate shouts through the tears, as she sees some, sign of movement. Eve's hands start to tremble. Eve's eyes open.

Eve screams and suddenly strikes out at Kate. It is a frenzied, attack, her hands claw and slash at Kate's face chest, and arms. Kate struggles, to, and finally succeeds to pin Eve's arms down on the ground. There is one final convulsion from Eve, and she stops.

Suddenly the rain stops. The only sounds are Kate's breathing, forced as it is with her tears, as she looks at the lifeless body of a child before her, and the final drops of rain, falling from the jungle canopy. She leans back sobbing. Oblivious to the sound of foot-steps coming at a brisk pace.

"Freckles, you are one." Sawyer's voice pauses. "What the fuck!"

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 12**

**Darkness Falls**

"The more I know about this sodding island, the more I want to get off it!" Charlie uninvited sits down across from Connor. Connor glances up, from an tattered Sports Illustrated Magazine.

"The rain, stopping like that is that normal?" Connor sighs, glances at his watch. The sunlight is fading.

"It's normal!" He replies. "You seen any sign of Lana?" He asks. Charlie grins. "Don't give that I've been caught behind the bike shed look, Charlie!" Connor warns jokingly.

Charlie grins. "Hi Lana!" Before getting up, and annoying somebody else.

Connor feels the presence of somebody beside him. He looks beside him. A dishevelled rain soaked Lana, stares at him. Her blue eyes look, well, tired. She looks a mess. Connor without saying anything hands her his towel. Lana grabs it, and starts to wipe away the water.

"You weren't out in that were you?"

Lana pauses deep in thought for a moment, then she speaks. "I couldn't find Eve!" She yawns.

"Hey, don't worry, she probably getting some ice cream back at the bunker with Rose and Bernard." Connor strokes Lana's hair. "We'll get ready and make our own way there before nightfall" Unusually he notices that she doesn't flinch away. Moments later, Lana is leaning against Connor's shoulder sleeping.

"You've got the knack!" Claire smiles as she walks past. "You think you can get Aaron to sleep?" Connor returns the warm smile. "Little guy, giving you grief?"

Claire shakes her head, watching an awake Aaron cradled in her arms. "More like restless, been so before, during, and after the storm, aren't you!" She rocks Aaron, who gruns unhappily.

"Claire if you can't get him to sleep within two hours, you give him to me." Connor looks at a sleeping Lana. "I definitely have the knack!"

A shout is heard from the edge of the camp. Connor, and Claire trade glances. "I'm going to hold you to that Connor!" Claire smiles mischievously.

"I win, you give me some peanut butter!"

Claire is about to reply.

The shouts get louder, Sun. Jin, and her were on the rota for the button pushing tonight at the bunker. They left, as soon as the rain stopped. Connor makes out what she shouting and gets up quickly, and runs over to her. Sun stops a few paces from Connor.

Sun catches her breath. She looks up at Connor. Her face betrays what she has seen, horror. "Something has happened!" She pauses; Connor guesses almost immediately, who it is about. "Eve".

Moments later Connor, Sun, and Sayid immediately run off into the jungle.

Jack looks at Kate in desperation for answers. An explanation isn't forthcoming. Kate is muttering, whispering something but it is inaudible, she is cold, wet, huddled up, and shaking. Locke, and Eko covers Eve's body is in a blanket, the white blanket quickly becomes stained with blood, a normally emotionless Jin turns away. He catches a glimpse of Sawyer's face, their eyes meet, and both look for an answer. A detached Ana-Lucia, watches from a distance. She crosses herself, before turning. All heads turn, apart from Kate's, in the direction of Connor, Sayid, and Sun. Connor stops, when he sees the blood-stained blanket. He takes a few steps forward. "What happened, what the hell has happened?" He surges forward, Sayid restrains him, Jin moves forward to help. "Connor please do not let this be the your last memory of Eve…"Sayid whispers, before releasing him, Connor slowly walks forward. He looks at everyone, Jack, Eko, Locke, Jin, Ana-Lucia, Sawyer, awkward stares are traded, and Connor then looks finally at Kate. Kate is staring at Eve's covered body. The silence from Connor feels like an eternity. He walks a further step forward. What did you do Kate?

"Kate what happened?"

Kate jerks her face up into Connor's view. Connor takes a step back, in horror. The scratches and cuts across her face, hands, and upper body are clearly seen. Her blood stained top, and jeans. Connor breathes deeply. He stumbles back. Sayid, and Locke move to help him. Connor silently and angrily waves them away.

Connor stands in plain view of everybody. Numb with shock. Locke lays a hand gently on his right hand shoulder. Eko, does the same on his left. Both walk him further away from Eve, from Kate.

Jin says something in Korean, Sayid looks at Sun. "My husband, will help you carry Eve." Eko pauses, and nods. "You better get the stretcher." He morosely says walking past Sayid, Sayid follows him. "Where are you going?" Sayid asks.

"To pray!" Eko replies sharply.

"For Eve?" Sun asks. Eko abruptly stops before turning around. "I know Eve, she is safe with the Lord, our Saviour now!"

"Who then?"

Eko's eyes go wide in anger. He then points sharply over to Kate.

"For her soul!"

Jack looks at the ground around Eve. He sees items scattered about, like in a struggle. A wad of money, wearing a set of plastic gloves he examines it, Australian dollars. He walks further around, two ID cards. Katharine Ryan, Katharine Austen, Annie Shepherd, he sighs, remembering Kate's earlier attempt to get on Michael's raft, the burned passport, oh Kate no. He looks over at Anna-Lucia, she beckons him over. He walks over, and looks where she is looking. Ana-Lucia points at an object.

A bloodstained knife is lying on the ground. Ana-Lucia gets up, and walks away. Breathing deeply, she leans against the tree staring at Kate, who hasn't moved at all in the past hour. She starts to say something, but thinks better off it.

Nothing else here for me to see. Sawyer decides to walk away from this grim scene. You're on your own Freckles. He watches Kate for a moment. He turns, and walks away, almost bumping into Sayid. He flinches, caught in Sayid's gaze.

"How long were you in the jungle before Kate found you?" Sayid hisses.

"Two, three hours. You got something to say?" Sawyer whispers back, inches from Sayid's face.

"That's a long time in the jungle – pity nobody saw you!"

Sawyer grins. "Well, Al-Jazerra that's where I hate to disappoint you. Two hours ago, I was at the bunker checking for Eve. Hurley, Bernard, and Rose saw me." He tone becomes sarcastic. "Why don't you ask them?"

"I will!" Sayid replies venomously. "A word of advice, stay away from the camp for the moment!"

Sawyer trades one more look, before walking away. "I can feel those daggers just going into my back Abdullah!"

"Kate – tell me what happened?" Jack crouches down in front of her. She is shivering. Eyes stare out, they are devoid of any sign of life. She's in shock; we're not going to get anything out of her. Jack reaches out to her, he touches her blood-stained hands. "Kate let me help you!"

There is recognition on Kate's face, she looks at Jack. She starts to speak.

"R, remember when we crashed I patched you!" She speaks rapidly. "Y, you told me, that when you were operating on a patient, that you almost lost?"

Jack thinks back to that fateful day. "How you were scared?"

Jack nods.

"I let my fear overcome me!" Kate whispers clearly. Kate withdraws into herself. Jack slowly gets up. A cold feeling grips his thoughts. A realisation that Kate has done something terrible and unthinkable has happened.

Jack, she's killed Eve.

Jack, she's murdered an seven year old girl.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 13**

**Darkness Falls part 2**

"Connor what's happened?" Charlie watches Connor slowly walk past him. The same look is on Locke's face. Claire, and Libby follow Locke and Connor, a crowd of other survivors follow them. Charlie watches from a distance.

Locke angrily turns round, startling Claire, and Libby. "Libby, Claire come with me, the rest of you, its getting dark, if I can have a volunteer or two to watch the perimeter tonight, Connor and me are quite tired!"

His cold authorative tone, causes a few grumbles, but the crowd disperses. All except Charlie. He watches the small group walk over to the edge of the camp. "Thank you Charlie, for volunteering." He mimics Locke's voice. "Even though nobody here, especially me, trusts you." Charlie watches the intense conversation that is taking place. He folds his arms. Connor is very intense. Claire turns away, hand over her mouth, she looks like she is in shock. Locke, and Libby look like they're trying to comfort Connor. What's happened?

"Eve dead how?" Lana exclaims. She momentarily loses her balance, Locke gently catches one arm, as she gets up. Connor watches her in silence. Libby goes to comfort her. Lana sits down, her head in her hands. Libby sits down next to her. "Connor – how?" She forces the words out of clenched teeth, eyes wide with anger. Tears welling up in her eyes.

Connor looks at Locke. The silent reply is not good. Connor breathes deeply, then replies.

"I will kill Kate myself." Lana storms across the beach, quickly followed by Connor, Locke, and Libby giving chase. Lana stops and turns to the group. Her eyes are tear stained. She looks at Connor, then Locke. "Eve was just a child, just a child!" She screams. Connor, and Locke just watch, powerless to say or do anything. Both are brushed aside by Libby, who goes to comfort Lana. "I'll watch over her tonight."

Lana lies awake, staring up at the night sky. The embers of a nearby fire fill the sky with momentarily stars. Libby lies asleep across from her. Clinical Psychologist, she sneers. How many years at university did you spend getting that qualification!

She turns away from the fire. This is going too well, in a few days time Kate will be lynched. Now I just need to find the rest of the diamonds, and get off this island. She closes her eyes, and falls asleep.

"You need some sleep!" Locke says watching Connor. Connor sits on the beach, watching the waves gently rolling onto the beach.

"I'll sleep later thanks."

A gentle pat on the shoulder. "You know where to find me." Connor hears Locke walking away. There are other footsteps, somebody smaller and lighter than Locke, Connor guesses.

He's right. Charlie sits down next to him.

"You're supposed to be on guard duty!"

"Look like you could do with some company!" Charlie replies. Connor sighs, he's right.

"I heard, about Eve." Connor looks at Charlie. "Is it true about Kate?"

Connor nods. "It's true!"

"Why would she do such a thing." Charlie draws breath. "Killing a child like that!"

"Charlie, I wish I knew!" Connor stares into the night. I do know.

"It's completely out of character for Kate." No its not!

Connor sarcastically smiles. "Every body is completely out of character on this island!"

"Not Kate, I mean I know she's done some things in her past, but killing a bloody kid!" Connor reluctantly groans. "She's not an angel with broken wings Charlie!"

There is an awkward silence. "Okay Charlie, there's a lot you don't know about me, my history, my background." Connor stands up. Charlie watches him. "Walk with me, and I'll tell you."

Locke casually sits down by the dying embers of another fire. He is joined by another figure who silently sits across from him. White skinned, and hollow looking, it is Lana. He doesn't say a thing.

Lana watches him for a moment.

"What is going to happen to Kate, Locke?" She whispers.

"I don't know Lana." Locke pauses. "There is going to be a lot of difficult questions asked in the next coming days."

"We should bury Eve." Lana shivers. "By the jungle, next to the spot on the beach that she liked to go to with Connor and me."

Locke glances a warm smile.

"Have Eko conduct the service." Lana wipes away the tears. "Hymns, prayers, I only know Lithuanian ones."

"I'm sure we'll all help out in that." Locke sheaths a knife. Lana watches him.

"Kate should be put on trial."

Locke listens, Lana's tone is dark. "Found guilty, then suffer." Lana yawns. She looks at Locke in his eyes. "You or Connor, should carry it out. I don't trust Jack." Locke feels a cold sensation creep up his spine.

Kate stares at the wall in the makeshift cell. All there is in the cell is a blanket, a mattress, and a bucket. Apart from bouts of sobbing, and Ana-Lucia and Jack checking in on her, this is her existence. There are footsteps outside, they stop, and the heavy steel door opens, she flinches as a torch is shone into her eyes.

"Eat." Jack places down a plate of food, with a cup of water. No cutlery. He stands back, watching her. Sun is there beside him; her calm and graceful exterior is betrayed by a scowl. Only days before she counted Kate as a friend, now she is something else.

"Once you've eaten, Sun, and Anna will get you cleaned up." Jack says before walking away. "If you would like to know, we're having a ceremony for Eve at the beach this afternoon."

"I want to go." Kate's words, though a whisper, echo like thunder in the corridor. A startled Jack turns round in shock, Sun looks at Kate with contempt. Jack takes a few steps into the cell, he looks at a horrified Sun. "Please leave us."

It is a bright humid afternoon, a light breeze blows in from the ocean onto the beach encampment. Thankfully, the rain clouds appearing on the horizon, will not arrive for another couple of hours. A shallow pit five feet deep, and the length, and width of a small child has been dug into the soil at the edge of the jungle. Beside the grave, Eve's form is wrapped in blankets.

With a few exceptions, namely Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Sun, and Anna-Lucia, all the survivors have gathered for the service.

Connor stands at the front, hand in hand with Lana, on one side, and Claire on the other. Charlie beside her cradles a sleeping Aaron. Eko leads the service with a few passages from his bible. These are a blur to Connor. Eko speaks about Eve being in the bosom of our merciful Lord, and at peace. I really want to believe that, he says fighting back the tears.

"Please if anybody wishes to speak now, please, this is the time to say the words." Eko glances at everybody standing around the grave.

Connor forces himself to speak. "Eve, in the short time that you were with us, there were times when we needed eyes in the back of heads to know where you were. But you'd always return with something, be it fruit for everybody to share, a makeshift fishing rod for Jin, a pretend radio for Sayid." Jin, and Sayid smiles across from Connor, he never caught anything with it, and the radio was a nice gift. "Or the pictures you drew at the bunker for each of us. Eve you have all given us something in the short time that you were with us, that was something to live for in this place." Connor clears his throat. "We'll all miss you Eve, but we will all promise you this, we will get you home!"

Lana watches him as he wipes away a tear. There are smiles, and tears from around the grave. There is a moment of perfect calm. That was Eve, everybody remembers.

Suddenly there is an angry shout from the back of the crowd. Eko, and Connor look round to chastise the individual, then they see what has caused the outburst.

Two hundred meters away walking towards them is Jack, and Ana-Lucia, in-between them, hands bound in front of her, is Kate.

The atmosphere changes within a moment, Connor, Locke, and Eko move towards the advancing group, to intercept them. Chances are if the survivors get a hold of Kate, she'll be lynched.

"No weapons, no knifes." Connor says to them. Locke unbuckles his knife sheath, it drops to the ground. Eko isn't carrying anything, but he is good at improvising, with what he has at hand. His bible. He looks at Connor, Connor silently and reluctantly doesn't insist. They carry on.

"Jack, I think for the safety of Kate, this is highly unadvisable." Locke shouts. Jack hears him, but doesn't respond. "It's wasn't my idea John." Ana-Lucia shouts back. "Trust me I'd have left her to rot."

"Where she is going Ana, she will be there for all of eternity." Eko snarls. "She will burn in hell."

Both groups stop, a few metres apart.

Connor stares at Kate. You got your wish, Connor. A voice whispers. Kate nervously looks at him, eyes pleading for words that will tell her that everything will be ok. They will not come.

Connor inhales a breath slowly. He turns his head, and focuses on Jack. Kate is not even registering now to him.

"She goes no further, I cannot guarantee her safety Jack" Connor's tone is calm, cold, and deliberate. "Take her back." Connor turns away. Jack puts a hand on Kate's shoulder, to turn her around.

"Connor." Kate whispers. Connor sharply turns around. He looks right through Kate. "I have nothing to say to you." He angrily whispers back.

"Murderer." Another voice joins the group, from behind Connor, Locke, and Eko. Lana stands. Her blue eyes are piercing and cold. She is holding something, Locke's knife, extended out in front of her, it shines with malice in the sunlight. Lana takes a step forward. Locke takes a step in front of her. The knife is millimetres from his shirt, he looks into Lana's eyes.

"Lana this is not the way!" Locke says calmly.

"An eye for an eye, an life for an life!" She replies. "Does it not say that in the bible" She spits out. Eko looks at Lana, then nods, then turns to Jack. "She speaks the truth."

By now the funeral crowd is walking slowly towards the group. Some of them are have armed themselves. The look of hate in each of their eyes, especially of Sayid and Jin is frightening.

Connor looks at Jack. "Get her out of here – now!"

"What do you want to do?" Jack replies. Connor looks at Kate for a moment, she is staring at the ocean. He turns to Jack, he sighs.

"Trial, at the bunker, tommorrow. We go over the evidence, the facts, and come to a decision!" Connor says calmly. Jack laughs inappropriately. "A jury trial. In a place like this?"

Connor shakes his head. "Everybody has Kate already guilty. A panel, like a military court martial. Three judges, review and consider the evidence."

"Then what?"

Connor grimaces. "We decide on a verdict, and a sentence." The waves crash against the shore. The crowd are inching closer, and closer. The look of desperation on Jack's face, is matched by the concern shown by Connor. "Our options are limited." Connor adds. Jack nods. "Okay, you, me, Locke!" Connor sighs. "It's getting like Lord of the Flies here!" He turns to Kate. "Get a good night's sleep, you're going to need it!"

"Is that it!" Lana screams as Anna-Lucia and Jack drags Kate away. "Nothing happens!" She wails, as Locke gently takes the knife from her. Eko lays a hand on her shoulder. All three look at Connor, Eko and Locke with acceptance, and Lana with venom.

"The next time I see you, I will kill you bitch." She screams at Kate.

"_The next time I see you, I will kill you bitch!"_

Kate stops suddenly, to the annoyance of Ana-Lucia, and Jack. The voice, she remembers, from a long time ago, in an almost distance life. She starts to turn round, back Jack stops her. They frog-march her away.

As the three walk away. Sawyer watches from the jungle. Casually leaning against a tree, smoking. Jack, and Ana-Lucia stroll past him. Kate looks at Sawyer.

"Have you got anything better to do Sawyer!" Kate spits out.

Sawyer coolly smiles. "Nah Freckles, watching the drama this afternoon, is all that I have planned." He laughs, as she is lead up a path, to the bunker.

Jack turns round.

"Sawyer, I'd stay away from the camp for the next few days."

Sawyer grins, he won't. Kate turns round. Sawyer watches her, the helpless and despair on her face. Sawyer watches with a cool detachment. You're really are in for it Freckles.

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 14**

**The Crucible**

Three sets of foot-steps echo like thunder down the corridor of the bunker. Connor leads, followed closely by Locke, and Sayid. Connor is carrying something slung over his shoulder, they glitter in the light, and rattle. Chains. Sayid, and Locke are both armed with the remaining pistols

Hurley, at the computer console with Sun watches them, Hurley looks the other way, his stomach is filled with dread with what is coming. Bernard, selecting a book to read from the bookcase, looks at Connor. Connor looks at him, Bernard helped him fill in Eve's grave. He's a good man, Connor thinks, I can see what Rose sees in him. Connor smiles. I'll need their counsel for after what I'm about to do. The steps echo.

Jack stands at the make-shift cell door. There is a look of despair within his eyes. He glances at Connor, before walking away in resignation. Sayid and Locke take station at both sides of the door, Locke nods to Connor. There is a harsh sound, as the lock is unbolted.

Kate is standing at the wall, shabbily dressed. Eyes red with tears, hair a mess. Connor breathes deeply, as he removes the chains from over his shoulder. Sayid, then Locke appear from behind him. Back-up in case Kate puts up a fight, she's did it before when she was cornered once, no risks this time. Connor coughs to clear his throat.

"Kate Austen." Connor says calmly. "You have been found guilty of the murder of Eve Jackson. Sentence will now be carried out. You will be taken to a place of our choosing." Connor pauses. "Where you will be executed!" The three advance towards her. Sayid produces a black cloth sack.

Hurley closes his ears, from the awful sound, of Kate's screams of protest.

_Foot-steps echo down the corridor._

_I hate hospitals._

_Connor walks down a hospital corridor, until he reaches a private ward. A few phone-calls the day before, ensures that the hospital security staff, let him through without question. A flash of an FBI ID card, to the nurse, allows him to be escorted into the ward._

_There is a woman in a bed, surrounded by monitors. Connor feels his lower abdomen. He knows what the function of these grim machines is, to keep you alive. The woman on the bed, is conscious, she's in her early fifties, but looks much, much older. The ravages of cancer, Connor reminds himself. The nurse sits on a chair by the door. Connor sits down next to the bed. Weakly, the woman turns her head. Similar facial features Connor observes._

"_Diane Austen, my name is Agent Connor Sutherland, FBI, I'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter Katharine!"_

_Diane breathes deeply._

**Two days before.**

"Do you recognise this knife Kate?"

Connor holds a clear plastic bag with a blood stained knife in it. Kate sits on a chair, hands tied in front of her. Jack and Locke watch Kate.

Kate looks at the knife, and turns her head away. Connor frustrated walks round, and holds the bag, inches in front of Kate. "Answer the question, do you"

Kate nods. "How do you recognise it Kate?"

Kate looks at Locke. "It's the knife, John gave me!"

Connor pauses.

"How did the knife end up with Eve?" Jack next asks.

"She must have stolen it!"

"Did you use this knife to kill Eve?"

"No!" Kate shouts.

_Diane sips some water, kindly held to her mouth by Connor. Connor places the glass on the cabinet next to a jug of water._

"_What made you turn your daughter in Mrs Austen?" Diane looks round and up at Connor, who is just sitting down. _

"_I loved Wayne, my husband." She pauses. "Wayne wasn't perfect, I believed I could make a relationship work, he was Katharine's dad."_

_Does this feel good Connor, torturing some woman over her kid's mistakes? Connor watches Diane with a cold detachment. _

"_He had a drink problem, but he never hit me!" Connor, checks his notes, that definitely wasn't the case._

"_Katharine did not respect him. She murdered him!"_

_Cigarette, all gas appliances left on, witnesses seeing Kate leave, big explosion, a big insurance policy on the shack, started by you know who. Connor sums up his notes on Kate. _

"_My daughter is evil Agent Sutherland, and deserves to rot!"_

"You found Eve lying on the ground stabbed several times in the chest and stomach?" Connor sits on the table in front of Kate. He folds his arms. "How did you get all those scratches on your face, arms and legs?"

Kate breathes deeply, trying to think. "I got some of them climbing up trees trying to find Eve?"

Connor looks with a I'm trying really hard to believe you but its not working Kate, look.

"The rest?" Locke asks.

Kate starts to breathe sharply. "I got those when Eve reacted to w,when I tried to revive her!"

Connor sighs.

"Jack are the wounds on Kate, do you believe that they are consistent with self defence?"

Three pairs of eyes in the room stare at Jack. The most pleading of all, are Kate's.

Jack looks at Kate. "Yes they are!"

Connor looks at Kate, whose head is now in her hands. "I think we'll have a short break before continuing!"

"_You look a little bit too old to want to sign up!" A friendly but authoritive voice from across the interview room table greets Connor. Connor smiles. "I have brother's in the Marines and the Navy, Sergeant Austen!"_

"_Then you have my sympathy Agent Sutherland!" Sergeant Austen, accepts a coffee from Connor. Who sits across from him. Uncomfortably for Connor, the sergeant is in his dress-one's. He is rather intimidating._

"_This isn't a social call, isn't it?" Austen asks. Connor nods._

"_Have you received any contact recently from Katharine Austen?" _

"_No I haven't, I think I would be breaking a few laws if I did!" A direct answer, this isn't going to be easy._

"_Letters, emails?"_

"_I said before, no contact Agent!"_

"_Are you aware that your former step-daughter, murdered her father, assaulted federal marshals, and her actions inadvertently lead to the death of a doctor. Also the small matter of wounding her three partners in a bank robbery in new mexico, and the attempted murder of an FBI Agent"_

_Austen nods. "Before I left Diane and Kate, I was proud to call Kate my daughter, but that son of a bitch Wayne was her father."_

_Raw nerve, go with it. "Do you believe that Kate killed her father given a sufficient motive?"_

_Austen sips some coffee. He shakes his head. "I met Kate shortly after me and Diane split up. She changed!"_

"_How?"_

"_She was quieter, and more distant!" Austen shrugs his shoulders. "She was a good girl, Agent, people don't go bad over-night!" _

_Connor sighs. "Your all American girl did!"_

"How did Eve come into her procession, fake id's with your picture on them Kate?" Jack shouts. Connor glares at Jack. Tone it down!

"I don't know." Kate replies. She looks at the three of them. "She must have found them!"

Connor sighs, Kate turns round in the seat to angrily face him. "Eve found something else, something worth killing for, did she Kate!"

Kate looks at Locke, then Jack. They're awaiting an answer.

"No I didn't!"

"Ok." Connor groans. "If you didn't murder Eve, then who did Kate?"

Kate looks again at Locke, at Jack, then Connor. We're waiting!

"Lana!"

"Why you!" Connor lunges over at Kate, stopped albeit narrowly by Locke. Jack looks at Kate in disgust.

Moments pass, nothing is heard except breathing.

"Asides from me, and Sawyer, she was the only one looking for Eve in the jungle!" Connor laughs. "Lana was back a few hours before Sun and Jin found you, with Sawyer as a bystander with Eve's body!"

"We found your forged ID cards, with a sizeable sum of money." Connor comes face to face with Kate. "We found your knife with Eve's blood on it. We found Eve's blood on your body, defensive wounds on your body, Kate. What else did Eve have on her Kate, that was worth killing her for?"

Kate doesn't answer.

Connor walks away, he looks at both Jack, and Locke. All have faces of grim recognition on them. The rest of the day is just going to be an exercise in futility.

"Do you ever lose your cool John?"

Connor finishes writing his notes. Locke glances in Connor's direction. "I learned a long time ago if I let my emotions influence my decisions, I hurt myself as well as others." A thin smile. "It's my turn for a question!"

Connor sighs. "Go ahead!"

"Did you ever once love Kate?"

Jack coughs. Locke and Connor turn in his direction. "A decision!"

Locke looks over. Waits a moment, breathes deeply. "Guilty"

Two pairs of eyes turn to Connor. "Guilty."

Two final pairs turn to a reluctant Jack, who drums his hands nervously against the table surface.

"Jack?"

"She's guilty okay" You got your wish Connor.

"Katharine Austen, this tribunal finds you guilty of the murder of Eve Jackson." Kate starts to cry, her head is in her hands. Locke carries on. "We have reluctantly come to the conclusion, that there is only one sentence that remains open to us. Stand up!"

Sayid, and Ana-Lucia, forcibly get Kate onto her feet. Locke turns to Connor. Connor stands up. "We here-by sentence you to death for the murder of Eve Jackson. I'm recommending that it be carried out as swiftly as possible."

Kate falls to the ground. There are murmurs, and gasps. A lot of eyes fall on the three members of the tribunal.

Connor glares back. "So you'd rather she live." He sneers. "Okay, I recall a lot of faces here." He looks at his watch. "Who forty-two hours ago, where wanting to lynch her." Claire, Libby, then Hurley, and Charlie turn their gaze away when Connor locks his eyes onto them. He shrugs his shoulders. "Go to hell the lot of you!" Connor gets up, and walks through the crowd, not caring if he bumps into a few of them unintentionally. He stops and turns round. "Oh I forgot, we are all already in hell!"

**Two days later**

The rain beats down remorselessly down. Connor looks down at the glock in his hand. He has slotted the magazine clip in countless times now. There is only a single bullet in the chamber. Sayid watches from the cover of trees a good five metres away. Connor turns round. He flicks the safety off.

Kate is kneeling on the ground, back to him; there is the occasional spasm of a sob, and then a glance round, eyes pleading for mercy, for help.

Connor places the pistol's muzzle at the base of Kate's skull.

"Connor please!" She wails.

The trigger is squeezed.

A shot rings out.

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 15**

**One Shot**

A shot echoes across the island.

As if time has stood still, survivors stop, and turn in its direction. For moments that feel like an eternity, nothing happens. Within the shelters and the bunkers, all look into the jungle.

Lana thinly smiles, he did he, he actually did it. She could almost punch the air in delight, Libby in the shelter with her, sighs. It's over now. Lana looks again into the jungle. There is a figure there, a small. She blinks. It was there a moment ago. She shakes her head. I thought I saw something.

"It's over now!" Lana whispers.

Jack stares at a table on the bunker. He plays with a toy DC-3 plane. Scattered around him on the ground, are Kate's few personal artefacts. A crayon drawn picture, of Kate by Eve, her rap-sheet, and finally a tattered weather beaten Polaroid photograph. He looks at it, then he contemplates the bottle of Dharma Initiative Scotch in the pantry.

Connor stares in horror at what has happened. Kate looks up at him from the ground, her eyes lifeless, she then blinks rapidly, as if awakening from a nightmare. His finger is still on the trigger.

Connor feels a sharp stinging pain in his left arm. Blood trickles from a gnash.

"Aren't you lucky, I selected single shot instead of automatic!" A familiar southern drawl speaks. Connor blinks through rain soaked eyes.

Sawyer stands five metres in front of him. An assault rifle aimed squarely at him, Connor recognises it as one of the arsenal weapons, stolen by Sawyer. Sawyer moves slowly forward.

"Don't move Abdullah." Sayid only moves a few paces, before caution stops him. "I have 29 bullets, he has one."

"I only need one." Connor raises his pistol, in line with Sawyer's head. Kate starts crawling away through the mud.

"Aiding a murderer, I thought you had some sort of honour, Sawyer!" Connor whispers.

Sawyer grins, glancing slightly to make sure Kate is beside him. "I don't think she murdered Eve, Connor, I don't think you do either!"

Connor laughs. "This is great. She's fucking with your mind Sawyer!" A bewildered Kate, stands next to Sawyer.

"The two of you flee, I will hunt you both down!" There is a trade-mark lop-sided grin from Sawyer. "I'd be insulted if you didn't!" Sawyer pauses. "Anyway you won't follow us right away, not if you have somebody wounded!"

Sawyer turns round, and fires a second shot, this time in Sayid's direction!

Kate screams, Connor turns round in horror.

Everybody hears the second shot. What has just happened?

Sayid winces in pain as Connor staunches the blood from a shoulder wound, Connor mutters curses, and swears to himself, as he looks into the jungle. A simple plan is forming.

Get Sayid patched up, get a gun, and hunt them down. He hoists Sayid arm around his shoulder, and slowly they make their way back to the bunker.

"Why did you do that!" Kate shouts at Sawyer. Sawyer stops a few feet in front of her, mutters something, then turns round.

"Thank you would be nice freckles!" He turns round, and carries on walking. "Considering I just saved your life!"

"Why?"

Sawyer turns round, this time more slowly. "Cause believe it or not, I don't think you murdered Eve!"

"I didn't" Kate hisses.

Sawyer smirks. "Well for that, I guess we're now on the run." Sawyer walks on deeper into the jungle.

"Why thank you Sawyer, for declaring war on the rest of the survivors". Sawyer mutters, as he walks past. Kate watches before following him.

"A little help here please!" Connor shouts. There are gasps, as a bloodied Sayid and a sweat—soaked Connor enter beach encampment. Survivors run in their direction to help.

Lana gets up from her shelter. Libby watches her curiously then turns round. Both run towards Connor.

"I need a rifle or a shotgun." Connor wipes the rain from his face. Charlie has gone to get Jack. Locke looks up from attending to Sayid.

"May be you should get seen to first!" Locke sternly says, pointing to the gnash across Connor's arm. "Maybe we should give them a head start!" Connor retorts, as Lana starts to bandage up his arm. He winces as she draws it tight.

"A child murderer escapes aided by a known criminal." The venom in Lana's voice is stinging. "We sit here debating on the matter."

Locke sighs deeply. "Ok – we go, but we wait until we can get more help. Eko, Anna, even Jack. The five of us"

"Six"

All eyes turn on Lana. She stands defiantly. "I can shoot pistol, a rifle, I lived on farm!" She gets back to attending to Connor's arm. "I suggest we get supplies too!"

"You had this planned!"

Kate looks under the canopy of bushes, there are two ruck-sacks, and another rifle. "Hell yeah, Freckles I decided an hour ago to help you out." Sawyer barges past her. "Again a thanks wouldn't go amiss!"

Kate pauses for a moment.

"What do we do now?" Kate, lifts up a rucksack.

"There's a bunker, that Ana's crew hid out in, I figure it's a two day hike." Sawyer grabs his ruck-sack, and slings it across his back. "It's in the area of the line that we're not supposed to cross kinda!"

Both look out into the jungle. Wind rustles through the foliage.

"I should go alone!" Kate whispers.

"Don't get all modest Freckles." Sawyer starts to walk on ahead. "We're both outlaws now."

"It's me they want!"

Sawyer sighs. "In that chase we better start moving!"

"Arrogant son of a bitch!" Connor mutters. "He had them here all along!" Connor and Jack look at the covered up hole in Sawyer's shelter. Medicine, and more importantly the guns are still there. Connor crouches down amazed at the what appears to be statues of the Virgin Mary, a host of them. He picks one up. "Never figured him for a religious sort!"

Footsteps are heard from behind them. Connor throws the statue back into the hole, and turns round with Jack.

"It'll be dark in an hour, I suggest we go now or first thing in the morning!" Ana-Lucia says, a day-sack over one shoulder. Locke joins them.

"Just the four of us?"

Connor nods. "Take three days rations, ammo, and medicine." He motions towards the hole. "There's two pistols, a rifle, and shotgun. Oh and" He throws to Ana-Lucia, some rope. "That should do the two of them."

A smile appears across Ana-Lucia's face. "So we're going to bring them back alive?"

Connor's gaze matches her's, and nods.

"I sent Lana, and Libby to get some supplies from the bunker shouldn't we wait?" Jack says concerned.

Connor shakes his head. "No, I think if Lana sees Kate and has a gun in her hand…" Do I need to elaborate? The silence confers agreement.

Connor holsters the pump-action shotgun, and starts walking.

"We're wasting our time here people."

To be continued…


	16. Chapter 16

**Fire and Ice**

**Chapter 16**

**Crossing the Line**

"How far are they ahead John?" Connor sips from a water bottle. Locke examines the trail ahead crouching down by torchlight. He turns round, looking almost demonic in the limited light. "They're a couple of hours ahead I say." He gets up. "They're weighted down."

"The ruck-sacks from the bunker." Ana-Lucia says.

"Sawyer." Jack and Connor whisper in unison.

"The jungle here gets thicker, I suggest we tackle it in daylight." Locke sternly suggests, looking particularly at Connor. Who shrugs his shoulders despairingly. "You're our tracker John."

"I'll get the campfire going." Ana-Lucia brushes past Connor. "We could all do with the rest!" Jack says. Connor sighs.

"Look familiar?" Sawyer turns to Kate. Shining a torch ahead of them. He grins, at Kate's discomfort. "I thought you would remember."

"How can I forget?" Kate walks on. "I had a gun pointed at my head." Sawyer grins looking around. "Well Freckles." He walks forward. "We've just crossed that invisible line!" _You and me ain't done Zeke._

"Lets stop here and get moving at first light!" Kate removes her ruck-sack.

Lana checks her watch for the umpteenth time in as many hours in the bunker. She checks the counter clock above the terminal. Forty-nine minutes, she curses underneath her breath.

"It doesn't go any faster." Libby leaning against the wall watches Lana. Lana fakes a smile, and turns round in her seat. "This is tedious work!" She mockingly exclaims.

"I can do this for a couple of hours Lana if you want to get some sleep!"

Lana nods. "Sleep that would be good!"

Lana walks out of the console room , towards the bunkbeds that are in the living habitat. What did she used to have to make her go into a deep sleep, Valium. She smiles. No, warm milk. She walks down the corridor. There is dripping water echoing throughout the corridor, it is dimly lit. Curiously her crucifix around her rises attracted to the wall. She's heard of the magnetic anomaly but not witnessed it first hand. Spooky. She watches her cross for a moment, then turns.

She stops. Down the far end of the corridor, where the hatch, a figure is standing, of a child. It is Eve. Lana gasps.

Connor wakes up, startled. Across from him, Ana-Lucia is stoking the dying embers of a fire. Jack and Locke are asleep, either side of them. There is more warmth from the fire, than from Ana-Lucia. Connor hauls himself up.

"You taking the next watch?" The question is more like an order, Ana-Lucia asks. Connor nods sitting down on a log.

"Is this a revenge mission Connor?" Ana-Lucia watches him.

The question is un-nerving for Connor. "We get them both back to stand trial!"

There is a smile from Ana-Lucia, not warm. "Sure, truth, and justice!"

She lies down to sleep. "The truth is always painful, but justice that's pretty remote just like this place!"

She yawns. "Just be sure before of what you want when you cross that line, justice or revenge!"

Eve stares at Lana through the darkness. Lana repeatedly closes and opens her eyes. With each passing moment the blood stain across her chest grows.

Where is that fucking gun!

A voice screams to her. You're dead!

Eve takes a step forward. "Why did you kill me Lana?"

Lana takes a step back. "You're dead!"

"Why did you kill me Lana!" Eve's voice is deeper, adult like. "You're dead!" Lana screams.

"I will kill you Lana!" Eve's voice is not Eve's, it's Kate's.

"No!" Lana screams, turns, and runs away from her.

Connor counts the rounds into the pump-action shotgun. Then counts them out again, and in again.

"Most people count sheep!" He says to Locke watching him.

"Not sure that is the one time I want to count on this Island!" Locke sips some water.

"How about wild boars!" Connor grins. Locke grins in reply.

"Sun-rise in an hour, Connor, we'll let Jack and Ana-Lucia sleep for the moment."

"It's quiet!" Sawyer yawns before he stretches his arms. Kate from a distance watches him. "It always is before the dawn!" Kate replies forlornly.

Both trade looks. "I guess we better get moving Freckles!"

Lana, watches the corridor from the table in the living area. She has not slept at all. The voices in her head have stopped for now.

Locke looks at the sky through the jungle canopy. Connor, Ana-Lucia, and Jack watch him. "What's wrong John?" Jack sighs.

"Curious." Is all that Locke can say. "Curious!" Connor grins at a perplexed Jack.

Locke turns to face them. "We're in a open jungle clearing!"

"Ok!" Jack looks round. Connor looks round in the opposite way. "With bright sunlight!"

Locke laughs. "Then why am I in the shade?"

Ana-Lucia looks up, and gasps. "Is that what I think it is?"

Connor, and Jack look up in the same direction. "Son of a bitch!" Connor whispers.

A face stares at the four of them, a bright yellow happy smiling face! It lies tangled in the jungle canopy.

"That's a balloon!"

"You got any ideas on where we're going?" Sawyer barks.

"No!" Kate replies. "I have no plan what so ever!"

Expecting a smart-ass reply from Sawyer, Kate turns round. Sawyer has stopped. He is looking into the jungle.

"What's up?" Sawyer waves his hand, to shut up. Kate is about to say something. Then they both hear it. Kate takes a few steps closer. They hear it again.

It's a man's voice, in pain, and shouting from the jungle.

"Sounds like somebody's in trouble!" Sawyer grins.

"It's a trap!" Kate whispers.

Sawyer grins, then walks in the direction of the screams. "Never was one for running too long." He turns round to Kate, loaded rifle in hand. "Gotta face your demons some time Freckles." He cocks the rifle. Kate follows suit with her pistol.

Lana starts to breath deeply. There is footsteps coming from down the corridor. Not this time! She gets up, picking up a kitchen knife from the table. She walks a few paces, the footsteps are louder, more slower, and closer.

She stands at the edge of the door, waiting. She smiles, you'll die this time! The footsteps get louder. A figure with blonde hair walks through. Lana waits a moment, draws the knife back, then strikes.

Libby turns round at the last moment.

"I'll be damned!"

Sawyer grins. As Kate lowers her pistol in disbelief. A scrawny bedraggled looking man, is hanging by one ankle several feet above the ground. He raises his head up, his eyes wide with terror, in line with Kate's.

"Oh thank god, somebody's come!"

Libby lies on the ground, gasping for breath. Lana watches her. "You thought you could spook me with mind games huh?" Lana sneers.

Libby struggles to say something, blood trickles from her mouth. Lana smiles as she crouches down beside her. Libby's eyes follow her. "Well you're going to spook me no longer." She whispers.

"There's a hatch in the computer room, Sayid says its some shaft that runs underneath the complex." She pauses. "I don't think anyone will find you for a long time Libby!" Lana stands up, and grabs the T-shirt Libby is wearing by the neck, and drags her from the living area.

To be continued…


End file.
